Mike Enghofer grew up in the Region in Crown Point, Indiana. It’s here in the Region he’s stayed, too, as he now works as a math teacher and serves as head coach for the Boys Varsity Soccer team at Valparaiso High School.
Before he could get to where he is today, Enghofer went off to study and play soccer himself at what was formerly known as Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne. He first began to get serious about the idea of both coaching and teaching while he was a junior there. Having possessed for most of his life an affinity for math and, of course, a love for the game of soccer, he thought the prospect of combining the two was a great way to incorporate each of his passions into a career.
“I knew I wanted to do something with numbers and math while I was playing a sport in Fort Wayne. I fell into coaching as something to do for some cash as a college kid and took a liking to it early on. Around my third year in college, I decided I really wanted to pair the careers of teaching and coaching into one,” he said.
As he’s been doing what he enjoys most for about half a decade now, Enghofer’s discovered over and over again the greatest rewards of both of his jobs as they do a bit of overlapping. He sees the two as concerning mostly the same complexities when it comes to guiding the area’s young adults but knows they’re just different mediums. In that way, he’s allowed chance after chance to inspire in a fruitful manner.
“Whether it's in the classroom or on the field, those moments when you can connect with kids and experience what makes them tick, what motivates them, and watch everything they hope for for themselves come to fruition are the best parts of what I do. Being offered the opportunity to positively influence kids at this very critical stage in their lives is a privilege I don’t take for granted,” he said.
As is the case for most dedicated educators and coaches, it does become difficult here and there for Enghofer to overcome the hurdles presented by the various time constraints associated with his roles. Teaching and coaching get to be emotionally, physically, and mentally exacting. What keeps him coming back to them is the why of it all. There’s something bigger at play at all times, and he realizes that it’s in how he gets to enlighten the students he teaches and coaches in meaningful ways all the time.
Sometimes, it becomes tricky to keep up with all the different types of kids Enghofer oversees. They evolve with their surroundings, he’s noticed, and their perspectives develop in ways unique to them alone. The challenge for him in that regard is ensuring they feel understood because their problems usually go hand in hand with their emotions and feelings. Enghofer’s always sure, then, to keep a finger on their pulse of their complications, which is how his compassion and care for them comes out.
“Trying to get close with the kids you run into is really interesting. I like coming down to their levels, to understand how they're thinking about what they're being exposed to. It’s important to take a step back at times for their sake and reason with them,” he said.
The pair of folks who have made perhaps the most profound impact on Enghofer are his parents. They’ve shaped him into becoming the person he is now. Ironically, back when he was in high school, he was inspired by an English teacher, who also coached soccer, to be a role model to the best of his abilities. Nowadays, it’s his pleasure to attempt to do the same for others.
Whenever he gets time away from work, it’s no surprise that Enghofer spends much of his leisure competing recreationally on a soccer field, as it’s his number-one hobby without question. Hanging out with his family is right up there, however. On the weekends, he’ll often grab food with his wife. He relishes obsessing over their son as well, no matter if they’re cozied up together inside or exploring the outdoors.
Enghofer has lived in Northwest Indiana his whole life. Because he hasn’t been isolated to only one of the cities here and has lived in a few of them, he’s witnessed and felt the playfully powerful rivalries that exist in the area. It’s helped this healthy sense of competitiveness to blossom in him. Seeing all aspects of that competition has only highlighted for him how united, funnily enough, everybody is over here, which has assisted him in cherishing what a fantastic place it is to live.
“Growing up in Crown Point, we would compete against Valpo in everything. When I was younger, I remember hearing people talk about how they were arrogant over there, but then I got a job here, and what I’ve since come to realize is that all those misguided thoughts people would have about them were wrong. Everyone in Valpo is just so proud. Now that I’ve lived here for almost seven years, I'm proud myself because of the great community here. Everybody feels so connected to one another, and that’s what I love about it,” he said.