For the past 32 years and counting, Agi Mete has been influencing students in the classroom, and on basketball courts and lacrosse fields.
The 53-year-old Welland native started teaching in April 1990 at Notre Dame until the end of that school year and then spent the next 15 years at Lakeshore Catholic. The law, civics, and economics teacher is now in his 17th year of teaching at his alma mater, Notre Dame, where he continues to coach and serve as the student council advisor.
At Lakeshore Catholic, the Western economics and Niagara University masters of education graduate, coached midget, junior and senior boys basketball for several years and launched a boys lacrosse program at the Port Colborne high school. He spent several years coaching senior basketball there with good friend, Steve Atkin.
He continued on when he arrived at Notre Dame.
“They already had a pretty successful boys lacrosse program so my first year I started a girls lacrosse program.”
He has continued to run the lacrosse program and has also coached junior and senior girls basketball for the past five or six years.
“Coaching and teaching go hand in hand,” Mete said. “The relationships in the classroom are one thing and I love getting to know kids on an academic level but, to me, the real relationships start in the after-school hours in those opportunities where you are working with kids in something they are very passionate about.
“It really is about those special relationships you form with kids when they are participating in a sport they passionately love and will remember doing for the rest of their lives.”
He feels coaching is about much more than just sports.
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By Bernie Puchalski - March 15, 2021
Alissa Mete is the definition of a multi-sport athlete.
The Grade 12 student at Welland Notre Dame qualified for Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championships in swimming, track and field, cross country and field lacrosse, and was part of a Pelham Panthers under-19 squad that placed second in the championship round of Basketball Ontario playdowns.
The 17-year-old Welland resident had a number of pathways to pursue a post secondary athletic career but ultimately chose running. That decision was validated recently when Mete signed a letter of intent to run for NCAA Division 1 Niagara University in Lewiston, N.Y.
“We are incredibly excited to have Alissa commit to Niagara University. Alissa is, of course, a very accomplished athlete who will bring a distinguished running resume with her, but we know she’ll bring so much more,” said Christine Kloiber, Niagara’s head coach of cross country and outdoor track and field. “During our discussions, it was always very clear that Alissa possesses a thoughtful maturity and purpose in her direction which communicated a composure and character that would enrich any team she chose to be a part of. We’re so thrilled she felt NU was a best fit for her and are looking forward to welcoming her to the Purple Eagle family.”
Mete was delighted to signed with Niagara.
“It was a real exciting experience,” she said. “It was always a dream of mine to go away to a D1 school and be able to run there. When I got the opportunity to go to Niagara, it just seemed like the perfect fit.”
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Congratulations to IRISH student-athlete Emily Foest, a two-time Canadian National Volleyball Champion on signing with Brock University to further her education and compete for the Badgers.
