Meet Coach Peter Caschetta

“It’s fitting that I became a P.E. teacher since I started playing competitive sports at the age of five,” recalls Archway Veritas Coach Peter Caschetta.  “I remember my father filling my pockets up with change to make sure I made the weigh-ins for tackle football and being one of the only players on my tee-ball team that could hit homeruns.”

Caschetta grew up in the late 80’s and early 90’s in a south suburb of Chicago.  As a middle child with an older brother and younger sister, he was always competing for attention by trying to be the best in games or activities.  In middle school he spent his summers coaching soccer camps to raise money to go overseas with his club team.  “I remember how much fun it was to coach these five and six-year-olds. I was able to run a successful practice while my peers struggled just to keep their players from running all over the place,” said Caschetta.  “I still remember after the last game of the season, all of my players gave me hugs and the parents thanked me for all the growth their child gained during that summer.”

When Cacshetta graduated high school, he was still unsure of his career path and worked numerous of odd jobs that he didn’t find fulfilling or a good fit for who he was as a person. It was during this time that he decided to become a P.E. teacher after reminiscing about how much he enjoyed coaching in middle school.

Caschetta graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Arts of Education from Arizona State University in 2010 with the hopes of becoming an elementary P.E. teacher. “During my college experience, I worked in a self-contained preschool classroom and worked for Laurens Institute for Education, where I learned how important it was to make sure your classroom environment was consistent, well-structured, and the importance of building relationships with your students.  It also taught me not to assume the outcomes of a student’s abilities and that all students can achieve growth.”

You could say Physical Education coach Peter Caschetta has a knack for running P.E. Programs at Great Hearts. 12 years ago, he walked through the doors of Archway Veritas as a parttime P.E. coach, then went on to work at Archway North Phoenix in a full-time position before returning to Archway Veritas. Along the way he has grown in his career, taking on the roles of Assistant Dean of Students and Great Hearts Network Instructional Coach.

“My job allows me to enjoy so many things. It fills my day with new experiences, opportunities to grow as a person, and pushes me towards this everlasting path to educating myself when perfecting my craft,”  said Caschetta.  “My goal has always been to enrich the Physical Education experience by incorporating anatomy, virtues, and creating challenges that builds the social skills needed to control your emotions, see the benefits in building relationships with your peers, and having the courage to try your best towards unfamiliar activities.”

When he’s not coaching, Caschetta loves to cook and bake.  He also enjoys back country hikes and exploring the Arizona roads on his motorcycle.  “A perfect day for me is sitting around a body of water with my wife, two dogs, grilling up proteins, and enjoying the Arizona skies with friends and loved ones,” said Caschetta.  He also admitted that he is better than most when it comes to darts and ping-pong.

Coach Caschetta added, “Though my journey at Great Hearts has been going on for longer than a decade, I still feel like I’m just getting started and still have so much more to learn and give. I feel so lucky and blessed to work in an environment that focuses on community and constructing the hearts and minds for all who are a part of this community.”

Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.