Hip-hoppin' Boisvert whips Alvirne into shape
Olivia Gilbert & Caitlin Teague
You all know of the man who teaches both hip-hop dance and speedball, our own Mr. Dennis Boisvert. But how well do you really know him?
Boisvert grew up in Leominster, MA where he attended Leominster High School. His love for sports started in Leominster because it was, as he put it, “an athletic-minded community.” There he played on the football, basketball, and track team and was the pitcher for the baseball team.
He then went on to college at U-Mass Amherst where he participated on the football, basketball, and track teams. He went to college to become a lawyer, because it is what his parents wanted him to be. But Boisvert had his sights set on becoming a gym teacher because he had a passion for sports and his football coach encouraged him to become one.
He started to teach biology at Leominster High, but then decided to come to Alvirne during the disco days, in 1974, when he heard about a job opening for a physical education teacher. He really wanted to help coach football at the school but there was one problem: Alvirne didn’t have a football team yet.
Boisvert kept waiting for Alvirne to get a football team, but he couldn’t wait any longer so he decided to coach soccer instead and enjoyed it greatly.
“The most proud accomplishment at Alvirne I have is that our teams I coached had records of over 900 wins with only 200 losses,” said Boisvert. “Hundreds of athletes became class and state champions.”
He also coached track for thirty years but doesn’t any more.
“I miss the closeness of the kids,” Boisvert said.
He actually has a health degree, and he teaches health over the summer at Alvirne. He is also married with three children. His two older daughters both inherited a love of track and soccer from their dad, and are now finishing college. His youngest son attends Souhegan High School where he plays football.
Boisvert’s favorite sports are now golf and skiing, but he plays ten different sports in all. His favorite sport to have his students play in gym is soccer.
“I have the most fun when playing with my kids,” said Boisvert.
He also loves being outside in the nice weather. In gym class, he calls the wind “mother nature’s air conditioning.” He enjoys hiking and admits he “loves little animals.”
What Mr. Boisvert likes best about Alvirne is “the amiable attitude of the teachers and students.” He loves “watching kids enjoy themselves and watching them smile.”
Boisvert has found that his biggest difficulty in being a gym teacher is “fighting the prejudice and ignorance against physical education.” He feels that some people don’t realize how extremely important physical activity is in someone’s life and it’s sometimes hard for him to get people to realize that it is actually very important.
So the next time you are in gym class and shooting for a goal like David Beckham, or lifting some weights while listening to “Soulja Boy,” you can look at Mr. Boisvert and know a whole lot more about this gym teacher!