EHS Pillars - Fall 2018

MATT FOX
English Teacher and Coach
Matt Fox graduated from Rice University, played
baseball for the Rice Owls, and after college he
played in the minor leagues with the Kansas
City Royals organization. This is his 17th year
overall as a teacher and baseball coach and
his 10th year at EHS.
At Episcopal, Fox teaches 12th grade
War Fiction, co-sponsors the Fellowship
of Christian Athletes, and serves as the
head baseball coach and assistant
athletic director. Throughout nine SPC
seasons, he has built a renowned
baseball dynasty that has earned six
SPC championships.
Fox and his wife, Leigh, have been
married for 16 years, and they have four
young children: one daughter, Ryan, and
three sons, Kade, Colin, and Jake. On
free weekends, he packs up the truck and
takes the whole gang for relaxing weekends
at a family home in Hunt, Texas, his “happy
place.” Last summer, an EHS Faculty Study Grant
took him to Vietnam, where he was able to “be still
and embrace the rich solitude with God while walking the
streets of foreign cities with no real destination, just to see what
surprises and delights I would stumble upon.”
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What’s on your playlist?
A large variety, but mainly a lot of
acoustic sets: Chris Cornell, Blue
October, Johnny Cash, Whiskey
Myers, Robert Earl Keen, Chris
Stapleton.
What was the first concert you
attended?
Tool. I was 13 and not quite ready
for that concert.
If you weren’t a teacher, what
would you pick for a career?
I would enjoy being a sports
psychologist.
What is your proudest
accomplishment?
Being a father of my four kids
because they make me look
cooler than I actually am.
Do you have a favorite app or
tech gadget?
I’m technologically challenged so
I can’t say I have one.
Did you have a mentor
growing up who inspired your
career?
My 12th English teacher, Mrs.
Goodman, made me want
to teach English; a mentor of
mine from college named Tim
Cornelson made me want to
invest my life in others; my dad
just made me who I am.
If you could travel back in
time, what period of history
would you choose?
I would like to walk and talk with
Jesus when he was on earth, and
I also would like to see a Yankees
game during the 1920s at Yankee
Stadium.
What trait do you most admire
in your colleagues?
That’s easy…they are so
incredibly gifted at what they
do. I tell people all the time that
our staff is so very talented and
passionate, and most of all, they
care deeply about their students.
What trait do you most admire
in your students?
Their willingness to be vulnerable
in their personal writings in my
class.
Read any good books
recently?
I’m currently reading Extreme
Ownership (How Navy Seals Lead
and Win) by Jacko Willink.
If you could eat only one meal
this week, what would it be?
Fajitas.