Mitch Dorr introduced Pam Taylor at the October 11 volleyball pre-game ceremony where the high school gymnasium was named in her honor. Taylor coached and taught for 35 years at I.S.D. 166. Staff photo/Laurie Johnson
At a game. At a practice, you couldn’t miss Pam Taylor. Pam Taylor’s booming voice filled the gym. At practices, she was quick to correct a volleyball player who wasn’t doing something quite right. Yet she was equally as quick to praise a player for doing something correctly.
Pam Taylor touched a lot of Cook County kids’ lives over her 35-year coaching and teaching career.
As a coach, her volleyball teams won 411 games. The last three years of her coaching career she took the Vikings to the state volleyball tournament.
On Thursday, October 11, right before the start of the Senior Night homecoming game, Taylor was honored in a ceremony commemorating her long successful career with the Cook County High School varsity gymnasium named in her honor, but the commemoration wasn’t just because of wins and losses.
Coaches deal with a lot of happy kids. Sad kids. Tired kids. Sick kids. Heartbroken kids. Coaching isn’t just about wins and losses. It’s about building kids physically, mentally, emotionally, and building teams. It’s about helping kids build their lives after the games end, after graduation, as they move on to adulthood.
Pam Taylor did all of those things. She could no doubt write a book about her coaching experiences. Maybe two books.
On Thursday night, Pam was being honored for her dedication, her thousands of hours on the roads and in the gyms at games and practices. She was being honored for her work as a phy-ed and health teacher and athletic director as well.
Vice principal Mitch Dorr, who also serves as the school’s activities and athletic director, called on Pam to come out onto the center of the gym floor before the banner was unveiled. As soon as Taylor walked out, the entire crowd stood to give her a standing ovation. Dorr cheerfully told everyone to sit down, telling the packed crowd they could stand after he made a few comments.
“I had Pam as a teacher,” said Dorr, himself a coach for 20 years. “Pam had a remarkable career filled with class. She refused to prepare a speech for this evening. Pam was all about the kids, teaching them, coaching them, caring for them,” added Dorr among his kind tribute about his friend and mentor.
And with that, the crowd stood and cheered and clapped for a long time as the banner was unfolded and a shy Pam Taylor stood smiling, taking it all in, her voice silent. She didn’t need to say anything. She had said it all along, and the banner in the gym with her name on it, well that said it all.
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