|
 Jon Beckerman was born in New York City on April 16, 1968 to the parents
of Donald and Cecilia. He is the youngest in the
family, which consists of one sister named Mindy.
At the age of 9, Jon moved to West Los Angeles
and attended Emerson Junior High. Jon attended University High School and graduated
in 1986. Playing baseball, socializing, and chasing
things of little educational value occupied his
High School years. His options were limited based
on his grade point average. His biggest inspiration
in high school was his high school baseball coach,
Frank Cruz. Frank, now head baseball coach at Loyola
Marymount University, taught Jon the values of
discipline and hard work. It is Frank who planted
the seed in Jon deciding he wanted to also one
day be a high school baseball coach as well as
a teacher. When Jon was a little boy his father
used to tuck him in to bed and used to always tell
him to find a career that you enjoy. The thought
of being around teenagers and baseball sounded
enjoyable. Jon enrolled at Santa Monica Communtiy College
in the fall of 1988. While playing baseball and
trying to pass classes, Jon struggled in his search
to figure out what it took to get good grades.
It wasn't easy. In 1990 Jon transferred to California
State University Northridge were he graduated in
1992 with both a bachelor’s degree and teaching
credential. In 1992 Jon was fortunate that his mentor and
role model Frank Cruz took a coaching position
at U.S.C.. Jon was immediately hired as teacher
and head varsity baseball coach at Univerisity
HS in the fall of 1992. At the age of 24, Jon was
on his journey as a teacher. His coaching career
was a success. His teams won league championships
in 1994, 1995 and 2000. His overall record of 162-98
ranks among the highest winning percentage at the
school. His teams made the playoffs every year
except 1998 including a semi final appearance in
2000, and quarterfinal appearance in 1997. Ironically
in 1997 eventual city champion El Camino knocked
off his team. Jon has kept relationships with several
of his former players. In 2001, Jon resigned as baseball coach to pursue
other interests. Through his coaching journey,
Jon worked with very special people who have been
outstanding mentors and role models who have enriched
his life. Some of these special men were Hal Kurtzman
(now a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks), Ray
Blum (35 year teacher and retired colonel in the
Marine core), Mick Maxwell, (30 year veteran teacher)
and Ross Rosenfeld (friend for over 17 years and
current head baseball coach at Westchester High
School). "Hal guided me during my young, immature
years. Anyone who knows Hal knows how special he
is and what an outstanding teacher and person he
is. Much of the things he taught me still holds
up in my life today. Ray Blum and Mick Maxwell
were also great guys to be around. I was so lucky
because they could tell me the solution to any
problem I had in under 30 seconds. Ray was a crack
up, he had great advice and was always helpful.
He always seemed to find humor in my problems.
Ross was a good friend, most of all he taught me
how to teach, how to break things down step by
step." Much of Jon's success was based on the
fact that he surrounded himself with winners
and people with
lots of knowledge. In 1992, Jon met his wonderful wife Jodie, who
he married in 1997. Jon and Jodie live in Northridge
and in June of 2001 added another member to the
family. Emily is now 4 years old.
Jon and Jodie found great joy in their daughter
although their is nothing
easy about it. In 2000, Jon contemplated a career in administration.
He then received his master's degree in education
administration in the 2002. However he decided
not to pursue the career. "All I saw was
giving up more time with little compensation in
pay." In 2002, Jon applied for a teaching position El
Camino Real High School. "After over 18 years
of being a student and teaching at University High
School it was time to move on. I have a deep love
for that school. It is my home, but I saw greener
pastures transferring to El Camino. I mean, who
wouldn't want to teach at the best school in the
district?" When Jon made the move, he often
said that, "It felt like being traded to the
New York Yankees". The time was right to
move. Most of which turned out to be true. Without coaching, Jon was scared that he might
become bored. It turned
out to be the exact opposite. During this time,
Jon developed a passion for reading. "As
corny as it sounds, I feel like once I began reading
on a daily basis, my life changed. I started to
understand everything. .
My income rose and I was able to express my emotions
better. I became less afraid
to tell others how I felt because for whatever
reason reading helped me to speak.
This built my confidence. " Jon's
spends most of his spare time with his young daughter
and family. Staying away from baseball allowed
Jon to realize his love for real estate and the
stock market. "This is something I probabley
never would have realized had I stayed in
coaching." One thing is for sure-- Jon loves to teach. "How
can I complain? I get paid fairly well to hang
out with young intelligent minds, talk about life,
conquer the world and be home by 4 o clock!."
|
---
