84 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 17, 2014 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com sports STAR OF THE CLASS Middle Village resident named Yankees’ All-Star Teacher Photos courtesy of William Termine William Termine (second from right) with Yankees manager Joe Girardi when the team honored the Yankees’ All-Star Teacher fi nalist at the stadium. Middle Village teacher and native William Termine was selected as the Yankees’ All- Star Teacher and was recognized for the honor at the July 15 All-Star game. BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA ctumola@queenscourier.com @CristabelleT After hitting a home run with his physical educational achievements, Queens teacher William Termine was honored at this year’s All-Star Game. The Middle Village native was selected as the Yankees’ All-Star Teacher and recognized in a ceremony before the July 15 Mid-Summer Classic at Target Field in Minneapolis. The 40-year-old has loved the Bronx Bombers since he was a child. “I became a Yankees fan because my older brother and father were Mets fans,” he said. “Being the younger son, I felt I had to be independent and go my own way.” Termine was one of three Yankees fans who were selected as the team’s All-Star Teacher fi nalists, after one of his students sent in an essay nominating him and he penned his own essay, explaining how he’s helped out his school and community. He started his education career as a paraprofessional in 1996, and since 2000 has been a physical education teacher at P.S./I.S. 87 in Middle Village, teaching fourth through eighth grade. Termine’s passion for getting children to be active goes beyond gym class. He also teaches kids fi tness classes at Vigorous Fitness Clubs on Metropolitan Avenue, and coaches soccer and softball for his 8-yearold daughter’s teams at Our Lady of Hope on Eliot Avenue. Termine is additionally involved with CHAMPS (Cooperative, Healthy, Active, Motivated and Positive Students). He started working with the program, which brings fitness activities and sports to students outside of middle school hours, after he pledged to bring it to his own school. “Exercise is something kids should want to do, not something they should have to do. That is my goal,” he said. Despite all the hard work Termine has done trying to achieve that goal, he still said he was “shocked” when he was selected, through online voting, as the Yankees’ All-Star Teacher. “I looked at some of the other teachers’ resumes and some of the fantastic things they were doing and felt honored to be part of that group,” he said. Before the All-Star Game ceremony he was honored with the other two fi nalists at Yankee Stadium on June 17. “It was a dream come true to meet all these players. I’ve been a Yankee fan all my life so to actually get to stand on the fi eld, it was surreal,” he said. As a kid he was a fan of Don Mattingly, then in the ‘90s it was Paul O’Neill, and today it’s Derek Jeter. “It makes it that much more special,” Termine said of being able to attend his fi rst All-Star Game, which was the Yankees captain’s 14th and fi nal one. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.” prodents
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