Cummings prioritizes teaching first, then coaching

“My inspiration is myself,”said Andy Cummings, WF History teacher and wrestling coach.

What Cummings means by that is he sees himself as independent; he sticks to doing stuff himself and is inspired by his goals, not others'. He talked about how he enjoys being a wrestling coach, but teaching is his passion and pays the bills. Therefore, he is more passionate about teaching, his real job rather than being a wrestling coach, something he does for fun. Cummings does admit to being close to his wrestlers.

“[I] get the chance to interact with … kids that [I] wouldn’t normally get to interact with,” he said. “Wrestling requires a certain amount of discipline and it transfers into the classroom.”

When it comes to his wife, Mrs. Michelle Cummings, who is a fellow WF Social Studies teacher, he said that they are both very independent. So, it is good that they work on opposite sides of the building.

“I don't often get annoyed with my wife working with me,” he said, jokingly.

A new aspect in both of the Cummings' lives is their new son, Theo.

“[Being a parent] is a lot of hard work,” said Cummings, though the rewards are worth it.

Along with his working life being described as “hectic,”some would assume that his life at the moment is very stressful. He said to be better as a coach and a teacher he has to “be more organized.”

Cummings was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He wanted to be a teacher so he moved to Florence. This is only because there was an abundance of teachers in PA and a shortage of teachers in SC. So he packed up and moved to Florence, SC to pursue his teaching career and get a good job as a teacher.

Becoming the wrestling coach is an added bonus and Cummings said he is very glad Florence One added wrestling to all high schools.

“Wrestling provides many benefits to the kids who participate in it,” he said.