Coach Shannon Reporting In

[TeacherMan78]

Hello everyone,

 

This is more of a reintroduction. I joined up here about two years ago, then life kind of fell apart and I stopped posting. So here is my story: About two years ago, I left my comfortable life as a middle school social studies teacher and coach in small town Kansas to move to Iowa City so my fiancee (now wife) could take a job at a newspaper. We had been living in separate states due to job situations and with a wedding date looming in October of 2013, something had to change. We decided whoever got a good job in a place we could both work, that is where we would go. She got the job and I loaded my things and moved to Iowa. Iowa did not work out. I refer to it as my "18 month kick in the nuts". I couldn't find a teaching job and out of desperation, took a job at the Casey's (a gas station chain) by my apartment. I thought it would be be a temporary thing. I was very wrong. I went from making a comfortable teacher's salary to making $8.00 an hour. I managed to land a second job working as a paraprofessional (sort of like a teacher's aid) in an elementary school. I would work with 4th-6th graders with behavior issues Monday-Friday and then make pizza at Casey's Friday night-Sunday. I did that for seven months. I somehow managed to stay in the gym during that seven months. I had set a goal to compete in a strongman contest in July of 2014 and I actually achieved that goal. I worked my ass off, trained hard and tried to eat right. It paid off. I won my first (and to this point only) strongman contest. I was the 2014 Iowa Games Strongman Heavyweight Champion. It felt great. It was the highlight of my time in Iowa. 

 

Of course Iowa wouldn't allow me to enjoy my victory. I was once again unable to find a teaching job and despite the dozens upon dozens of jobs I applied for, there was no one who wanted to hire me. So at Casey's I stayed. Except without the extra income of a second job, our situation got very dicey. I got down, lost all self-confidence, starting having stress nightmares, stopped working out, stopped eating right, and in general was just a shell of my old self. I had worked all my life, done all the right things, and this was my reward. A job that was killing me, in a state that clearly didn't want me there, no friends, no family, no hope. Then our landlord sold our apartment and we had to move on a shoe string budget. Then my wife got laid off. That was our sign. We decided to swallow our pride and move back to Kansas. My mom was nice enough to let us stay in the basement. I got back to Kansas two days before my 29th birthday. There I was, broke, no job, coming off a constant stream of failure, and moving back home with my mom. But then things started to change.

 

Before I left Iowa, I had applied for an open teaching position in Wichita, KS. I interviewed the day after I got back. They hired me that day. After 18 months of nothing, I was a teacher again. It was the best Thanksgiving ever. A couple of months later, I got brought on as the defensive line/head freshman football coach at a local high school for the 2015 season. About a month after that, my wife got a job in the marketing department for a local chain of banks. Eighteen months of crap have turned around in six months. Now it is time to get serious about my health. I took about a six month gym/eating healthy hiatus when things got real bad in Iowa. I probably gained at least 25-30 lbs in that time. Things were that bad. I've been back in the weight room on a consistent basis since January. I love the iron. I forgot how much I missed it. I want to get back to being the strongman. I want to compete again. I want to be me again. Iowa took many things from me. My strength, 18 months of my late 20's, the first year of my marriage, and a good chunk of my optimism. But that is my past. I intend to bury it beneath a pile of weight, strongman medals and coaching victories. Iowa dies today. My new path begins today.

 

-George Shannon

 

P.S.- Wow, that is a lot of writing. Guess I needed to get all that off my chest. Anyway, if anybody has questions about lifting, strongman, football, history, scotch, cigars or surviving adversity, feel free to ask. I love sharing my knowledge and experience. Probably why I'm a teacher.

[Eleanorsbee]

now thats a respawn !!!!

 

welcome back, sounds like you are on a roll !

[ringular]

What a read, thanks for sharing. I wish you and your wife all the best for your future, a real rough patch for the first year of marriage.

[TeacherMan78]

Thanks everyone. It gives me solace that despite how terrible that time was, our marriage was in pretty good shape. It bodes well for the future.

[insanity]

Thanks everyone. It gives me solace that despite how terrible that time was, our marriage was in pretty good shape. It bodes well for the future.

Sounds like she's definitely a keeper... :-)

 

and welcome, glad you're getting things rolling in the right direction again.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Welcome back, both to NF and to the iron.

[SomeGuyFromScotland]

Great turnaround, my friend. And it's not even so much a happy ending as a happy new beginning.

[Basement Cat]

Welcome back!

 

It's awesome that you were able to turn your life around! Good luck with your goals! And your wife sounds awesome too. It sounds like you make a great team.