The Pacific Trails Middle School PE department continues to rack up the awards, with one of its teachers being named San Diego County’s Middle School PE Teacher of the Year for the second time in two years.
This year, PE teacher Tyler Kuehl won the PE Teacher of the Year honor from the San Diego County chapter of the California Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
“Tyler’s a phenomenal educator. He goes beyond the curriculum by investing in each student. By getting to know them personally, he builds strong connections. This, in turn, unlocks their full potential and fosters a genuine interest in what he teaches,” said Austin Olson, Pacific Trails PE teacher and the 2022 honoree. “ Tyler’s ion for teaching PE is infectious! He takes immense pride in his work, and his creativity shines through in his engaging lesson plans. Students have a blast in his class – it’s clear they truly enjoy learning with him.”
A San Diego native, Kuehl played baseball for Rancho Bernardo High School and Point Loma Nazerene University, a standout hitter and infielder. After short stints working in beverage sales and training to be an EMT, he was trying to figure out what he wanted to do when he observed a friend teaching PE for a week: “This is your job? This is awesome. You’re outside and you’re literally playing every day!”
He decided to go after it and get his teaching credential, starting out as a PE teacher in Saddleback Valley Unified in Orange County (where he also coached baseball) and working in Vista Unified for six years until the job opened up at Pacific Trails.
“Going into my 10th year of teaching, I feel like I’ve finally found my style,” Kuehl said. “I’m constantly learning and I’m blessed to be around great PE teachers. I’ve been stoked for the last two years being alongside Austin Olson and learning from him and adding my own flair.”
Kuehl said his flair is not getting too comfortable in a routine and being willing to take risks. He always wants to try something different and keep things fresh, which is especially important in reaching the middle school set.
“They’re definitely a tough crowd,” he said. “You’ve really got to win them over and when you do, it’s awesome.”
Kuehl sees all seventh and eighth graders at Pacific Trails three days a week. Students have units on all the major sports, dance and try new things like a backyard games unit with cornhole and Spikeball—there’s also a unit where kids create their own game. This year’s pickleball unit was the most popular one for sure, thanks to the addition of new nets on campus. Kuehl hopes to switch things up and add ping pong next year.
Kuehl starts each class with a Workout of the Day (WOD) that he has created. Each of the CrossFit style workouts are inspired by a different person, from Rocky Balboa to The Rock. One WOD was inspired by David Goggins, who has a powerful story of dropping over 100 pounds in order to achieve his goal to become a Navy SEAL.
The kids also create their own WOD’s which are then memorialized on framed posters.
“It’s really hard to motivate students to work out these days so you have to persuade and motivate them and add any flair you can to get them moving,” he said.
The last two years they have incorporated social emotional learning into their Monday classes, sharing lessons about relationships, goal-setting and decision-making.
This year Kuehl led a lesson on vulnerability and courage, inviting kids to take part in a gratitude project. Around Thanksgiving, students wrote a letter to someone that they were grateful for and then called them privately to read them the letter.
The father of a four-year-old, three-year-old and six-month-old, Kuehl has discovered that he really loves that “awkward” age of middle school. He wants to invest in the kids and build a rapport with them, helping them build better social skills and confidence.
“Tyler bravely shares his personal struggles, inspiring students through his vulnerability,” Olson said. “This honesty fosters open communication and deepens their respect for him. Students see him not just as a teacher, but as a relatable role model they can learn from.”
As PE classes are very large, about 55 students-strong, Kuehl really focuses on getting to know each student and making sure they feel seen and encouraged. He wishes he didn’t have to grade students based off physical education standards but on the way they treat others. “I care about their character,” Kuehl said. “That’s what they need the most in middle school, to be the best version of themselves.”
Kuehl said he was surprised that he won the PE Teacher of the Year award as Olson had won it so recently. An award ceremony was held at Mission Bay, with Olson giving him an introduction.
Olson himself was also recently recognized by the Society for Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) America as the 2024 SHAPE America Western District Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year.
“I am just blessed to be at a spot with him because who you surround yourself with in a PE department is kind of huge. Sometimes PE gets a bad rep because a lot of teachers just roll the ball out….Our school is not like that,” Kuehl said. “It’s just a breath of fresh air, he gets it and cares genuinely about the students and it just makes your job more fun.”
