This is the 51st article in Bears Doing Big Things, a weekly column celebrating the stories of notable M-A alumni.
Steve Yob ‘04 is a Physical Education teacher at La Entrada and the M-A girls varsity basketball head coach. Yob played for the M-A basketball team throughout his highschool years.
At M-A, Yob was very focused on basketball. He said, “Basketball is a huge part of my life and always has been. It kept me focused and away from other things that would take me away from the game. It kept me healthy and out of trouble.”
He added, “We weren’t that great my sophomore year, but then coach Craig Carson came in during my junior year, and we had a really good next two seasons.”
The relationships that Yob formed during his time at M-A are still held very close to his heart. “I loved M-A, those are my fondest times. A lot of my friends who went to my wedding were from my high school days. I met my wife in sophomore year, and we started dating junior year, and have been together ever since, so M-A means a lot to me. I liked the big school atmosphere and being able to see everybody.”
After graduation, Yob attended Chico State and majored in business with a minor in economics. He explained, “I wanted to open a sports bar restaurant, but then learned that the business fail rate for bars and restaurants was high, which quickly got me away from that.”
Carson inspired Yob to become a Physical Education teacher and coach. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do after college. All I knew was that I wanted to work in sports. Two years after graduation I talked to Craig Carson about how to be a teacher and coach. He showed me the way to go, so I did a semester of student teaching at M-A, then did my student teaching at La Entrada, and got my credentials after that.”
In addition to coaching, Yob works as a Physical Education teacher at La Entrada Middle School. He has been teaching and coaching for twelve years and has been at La Entrada for ten years.
On staying local, Yob “Being able to come back to M-A is awesome, and I love coaching and teaching at La Entrada. I have always been a homebody around this area, and I don’t like going anywhere else. This is what I know and this is what I love. I met my wife at M-A, and now we have two kids. They all come to the basketball games and such, and it reminds me of my high school days,” he said.
Yob’s advice to current M-A students: “One of my favorite quotes is simply ‘Work hard and be kind,’ because manners go a long way. If you’re kind and respectful, it opens a lot of doors and you can’t go wrong. As long as you’re working hard, good things will happen.”
Yob’s advice for students interested in education: “Get out there and go after as many opportunities as possible. Learn as much as you can, because even if it doesn’t seem helpful now, it probably will be in the future. Don’t close off any doors.”
