Photo by Manny Mata-Flores ’19 | Mr. Leyba ’94 converses with students at the Comic Book Club Thursday Aug. 25.

By Josh Spano ’18
THE ROUNDUP

After being gone for a year, teacher Mr. Jose Leyba ’94 returns to teach Spanish.

While away from Brophy Mr. Leyba was living in the state of Washington.

“Washington state was great, “Mr. Leyba said.” We had a five minute walk down to the Puget sound.”

He also said living in Washington was a memorable experience for his three sons.

“Every day they were outside chopping wood or hunting pinecones.”

While in Washington he taught Spanish two times a week ranging from kindergarteners all the way to seventh graders.

He taught at Our Lady Star of the Sea, which happened to be the same school that his sons were attending.

Mr. Leyba said teaching his kids was “really special.”

“I would teach every grade except for Kindergarten again,” he said. “Those kindergarten teachers should be sainted.”

Mr. Leyba planned to take a full time Master’s program when he returned to Arizona instead of teaching.

“I was really blessed and fortunate to be invited back and asked to come back at Brophy,” Mr. Leyba said.

Some of the activites Mr. Leyba takes part in are coaching wrestling, moderateing the Comic Book Club, and taking part in the frosh breakaway.

He is also looking to be involved in an immersion trip during the spring time as well.

Another thing he said he is looking foward to is starting a faculty Zumba class.

“Who knows, maybe that can turn into something for students,” he said.

One the things Mr. Leyba is also looking foward to is coaching wrestling again.

“As soon as I step into the wrestling room and put the shoes on the rest of the world falls away,” Mr. Leyba said.

Mr. Leyba said he is excited to share his love of wrestling with the many wrestlers he will help coach.

Current junior and senior wrestlers get to see their former coach once again.

“Coach Leyba is a very nice and fun person. He always has a smile on his face,” said wrestler Brogan Smith ’18.

Once the head coach, Mr. Leyba is now an assistant coach for wrestling.

“He has done such a phenomal job the past year and in the offseason preparing the core of the team for a banner year,”  Mr. Leyba said about the job Mr. Wayne Catan does coaching wrestling.

“I am really looking foward to how the wrestling program is going to grow in notority and become an elite program,” Mr. Leyba said.

Students and wrestlers can look foward to see Mr. Leyba stay at Brophy.

“I think I am here for good and hopefully I’ll be old and gray and be wrestling when I am 60 something.”