Skip to main content

Trainer to Teacher to Both?

By

 By John Kim

As the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year arrived, so did Mr. Trevor Riffey and his wife. He is currently 26 and from Rancho Cucamonga, Southern California.

Previously working as a certified athletic trainer in a high school in Arizona and in physical therapy clinics, Mr. Riffey caught sight of Dalat and wanted “to do athletic training at a place that never had athletic training or sports medicine.” Mr. Riffey also wanted to try something new as he said, “I wanted to go into the teaching world.” Mr. Riffey teaches Human Anatomy and Physiology in high school and P.E. for Elementary classes.

With only a few weeks left of the second semester, Mr. Riffey, fortunately, adjusted comfortably to the new school culture. He says, “I like the Dalat community because people are inclusive. We were made to feel right at home as soon as we got here. And that was nice because it was my first time overseas. I also enjoy the support of the community.” Thanks to Dalat’s overall warm welcome, Mr. Riffey was able to transition smoothly into an unfamiliar land and culture.

Although Mr. Riffey already has jobs as an Anatomy and P.E. teacher, he plans for more in Dalat. As far as his plans go, he says, “I would like to start an athletic training / sports medicine program for Dalat Athletics which encompasses working after school and support student athletes with orthopedic injuries they have and be available to treat or rehabilitate if needed. I also want to build a sports medicine class at Dalat so that students involved in the class can help during athletic events for medical purposes.” A potential opportunity may arise for the Dalat community to learn how to treat injuries and help each other out.

“What would his favorite sport and team be?” you may ask. Here is your answer -- Mr. Riffey’s favorite sport is ice hockey and supports the Los Angeles Kings. In fact, Mr. Riffey was able to participate in competitive ice hockey games. He describes a proud moment in his ice hockey: “In 2013, I had the opportunity to play for the United States Junior Men’s World Roller Hockey team. We got the silver medal, losing to the Czech Republic.”

“What could his favorite animal possibly be?” you may wonder. Monkeys. Why monkeys? Well, Mr. Riffey reasons, “they are pretty cool and smart. They can do a lot of things. You can kind of communicate with them compared to other animals.”

As Mr. Riffey will work past his first contract and plans to see where God takes him, the Dalat community welcomes him and his passion for training and teaching.


Photo by Sean Park @ypic_moments



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DINGBAT DALAT STUDENT SPENDS PRECIOUS TIME CONJURING UP SELF-REFERENTIAL SENIOR SCRIBBLE RATHER THAN GATHERING LEGITIMATE WORK

By Anonymous
Yusoof Monawvil PENANG, MA - As the deadline drew near and the stars aligned in the night sky above the majestic waters of the Strait of Malacca, one particular Dalat student—Yusoof Monawvil (12), despite a plethora of school events to select and report on—opted instead to spend a remarkably well-wasted 24 minutes staring at a blank Google Docs page, fruitlessly drawing up and shooting down brainstormed ideas.  In a moment of sheer and undeniable epiphany, Monawvil deemed it only fitting to self-referentially satirize his own ingrained incompetence and dingbattery. Commenting on the flash of insight, Monawvil quoted himself, saying: “It all just kinda made sense. I went on DISCourse to look at the little rubric thing Ms. Grad and Mr. Hieber posted, and I checked if I was following all of the guidelines... And I technically am/was; [N]ot like there’s any specific direktive [sic] prohibiting self-quoting.”  In a turn of events, Monawvil did come to find his self-quoting en...
6 comments
Read more

"Spikeball, Swimming, and Sickness: The Remnants of Senior Sneak" by Ee Rynn Ong

By
“Guys, I think we’re here,” said Jonathan Ooi (12) as he peeked out of the lorry to catch the first glimpse of our Senior Sneak location. This year’s Senior Sneak was held in Nomad Adventure, Gopeng, and the organizers planned many activities for the Class of 2026, ranging from traditional games like congkak and batu seremban to adrenaline-pumping ropes courses and whitewater rafting. These scheduled activities proved to be some of the best highlights of the trip, but top of that, the seniors were also given some daily free time to chat, explore, and relax. Josh Stevens (12) had come prepared for this with two spikeball nets, which immediately attracted attention from people eager to spend time in the outdoor sun. The next five days saw spikeball veterans and newcomers alike, spending their precious one and a half hours daily around the unassuming circular net, smashing the yellow ball in hopes of a victory.  Caleb Evans (12) was one of the newbies to spikeball, learning how the g...
Post a Comment
Read more

“I Miss Her” by Nikhil Pillay

By
While most people had a fun week for mid-semester break, whether it was spent with family, or with friends on impact trips, no one had a more emotionally confusing week than Judson Kenneth Robert Nosker (12).  In the light of recent events, Judson, despite all odds, had gotten in a relationship with one of his classmates, and as the break started, he had started to spend a lot of time with her. While with her, he started to experience a new level of joy and completeness that he had never felt before. In the words of Judson Nosker, “The first half of the break was good, but the rest of it was horrible.”  The reason for such a quote and the roller coaster of emotion was because half way through the break, disaster had struck. Judson’s girlfriend had gone on a trip with her family to Thailand, leaving Judson all alone. For the rest of the week, Judson was in a state of longing for her presence.  His friends have reported numerous occasions when Judson would be sitting with t...
Post a Comment
Read more