Dreyer

Steve Dreyer is not only dedicated to helping kids gain confidence as athletes — he knows first-hand what it takes to succeed. Before becoming an elementary school physical education teacher more than 20 years ago, he was a professional baseball player. He will serve as PE teacher at Rogers Elementary School.

An Ames native, now residing in Polk City, he played a variety of sports as a kid.

“We kept ourselves busy by playing outside with our friends, and we did all sports — whatever the season was — that was the sport that we played,” he said. “So baseball was just one of a few sports that I played when I was younger. But when I got into high school, I was not what you would call a very athletic looking player.”

He said “underdog” would be a fair assessment of his high school athletic career.

“I was very small and not very strong, and so I wasn’t able to play football, competitively, or basketball competitively, at a large school like Ames,” he noted. “So baseball was really the only sport I had success with. And so I kind of stuck with it throughout high school. My college stats at UNI were horrible, but I stuck with it and got a little bit better. Fortunately, I was drafted by the Texas Rangers out of college, and so that became my first real job.”

He spent seven years with the Rangers and then one year with the Twins organization.

“I started out at the rookie level — like all new draft picks do — and I was able to work my way up a couple years, and then I did have a chance to pitch in the major leagues with Texas,” he said. “I made it to the major leagues in 1993 and was there for parts of three seasons with the Rangers: 1993, 1994 and 1995.”

His earned a degree in television and radio broadcasting, with the dream of becoming a sportscaster after retiring from baseball. He interned at WHO-TV. But as a man then in his late 20s, the career path didn’t feel right the way it had fresh out of high school. So Dreyer went back to school and enrolled at ISU, getting a teaching degree. He taught PE in Ames, had a 17-year stretch in Waukee and two years in Alabama before coming back to Iowa.

“I love the elementary level. Always have. Believe it or not, I am more comfortable speaking with elementary kids than I am speaking with adults,” he said with a laugh. “I can also teach them vocabulary, and I can teach them the right way to show sportsmanship and respect to others, because I learned that when I was young, coming up through Ames, many years ago.”

Pupils at Rogers have PE every fourth day. He noted that in Alabama, students had to take a PE class daily in a school with nearly 600 kids.

Dreyer looks forward to introducing youngsters to games and sports they may not be familiar with, as well as keeping around favorites taught by former PE teacher Nicole Boliver. Skills taught at the elementary level include coordination, balance and problem solving with partners and in small group settings. Kindergartners and first graders will learn how to catch, throw and dribble, getting a glimpse of the team sports available to them in the future.

“I’m really excited to play these games with the kids, because it’s not so much about winning or losing, or about how good your performance was. It’s more about learning how to use equipment, learning how to cooperate with teammates, learning how to be a respectful winner or a respectful non-winner in the game,” he said.

Dreyer’s family includes wife Courtney, an attorney, and sons Jack, Will and Nick. Jack, a left-handed pitcher, has followed in his dad’s footsteps.

“Jack signed with the LA Dodgers. He’s at the Triple-A level for the Dodgers, which is in Oklahoma City. The Triple-A level is the same level as what the Iowa Cubs are in Des Moines for the Chicago Cubs,” Dreyer said.

He said he’s enjoyed meeting his fellow teachers, especially those new to Marshalltown.

“They’re wonderful people, excited and nervous just like me, but we’re all ready to go,” he said.