After more than three decades of weights and wellness, Mr. Kevin Clancy is hanging up his gym whistle, at least in the classroom.
Clancy will retire from teaching ninth-grade Health and Physical Education after the 2024-2025 school year.
Clancy joined Haven in 1991 after serving as a coach at Archbishop Carroll from 1975 to 1990. He entered the public education system at Haven with a desire to continue teaching, having completed his degree in Health and Physical Education from West Chester University.
“It was time for me to move on to public education,” he said in 2023. “Strath Haven was a perfect spot, people were great to me the minute I got there.”
While Clancy, the winningest coach in the history of District 1 football, may be leaving the classroom, he won’t be leaving the gridiron. He will continue serving as head coach of the football team.
“I still enjoy football and I am still capable of it,” he said. “I thought it would be a nice way to ease into retirement, and frankly, I’m kind of attached to the kids that we have coming back.”
Teaching was not always his original plan. Attending West Chester University to major in business, his career path shifted.
“The coaches talked me into trying Health and PE, and I wasn’t all that sure about it. But once I got into it, and especially after student teaching, I really liked it,” Clancy said.
For him, Physical Education is more than just sports but also practicing regular healthy habits for beyond high school.
“Team sports eventually run out,” he said. “But individual fitness, running, swimming, tennis, golf, that lasts. If I can get students past their fear of things like distance running, they might be more willing to try it later in life.”
Students evolve throughout high school, and seeing them grow has been a favorite part of his experience at Haven.
“When a kid acts up in ninth grade, I always think, ‘Four years from now, you’ll be different.’ And they are,” Clancy said. “I love seeing them succeed. I’ll miss that.”
His legacy carries outside of the athletic wing. One of his nine children, Dr. Pat Clancy, who has taught social studies since 2010 and previously held the athletic director role, reflects on his father’s passion for education as a motivating factor for his own career in public education.
“I think once he got here, he realized ‘Hey, there’s a lot that’s good about this career in this field,’ and certainly encouraged us to go that path,” Dr. Clancy said.
Beyond the influence, Dr. Clancy recognizes his father’s natural strengths as an educator and how he connects with students.
“He’s just a good listener, he tries to put himself in other people’s shoes,” Dr. Clancy said. “He has a pretty good sense of what kids are going through, and there have been a lot of times where there’s a conflict, and he seems to understand and diagnose it a little faster.”
The elder Clancy’s dedication in the classroom shows. “He genuinely loves his job,” Dr. Clancy said.
Sophomore Jonah Rodriguez, an alumnus of Clancy’s ninth-grade Health and PE class, shares the same sentiment.
“He is always super encouraging,” Rodriguez said. “He was always so nice and helped me when I didn’t understand something. It was always a chill gym class.”
As for plans after his retirement, besides Friday Night Lights, home is on the agenda.
“I’ve got plenty of home projects to keep me busy; there are many things that have been neglected for a lot of years,” Clancy said with a smile.
Though he is ready to be occupied at home, Clancy made it clear that leaving the school community won’t be easy.
“I’m grateful to the administration who hired me in ’91 and to the students over the years,” he said. “People say kids change, but I haven’t really seen it that way. We’ve always had great students here, serious about learning and respectful to each other. It’s been a great place to be.”
