Physical Education teacher Edwin “El Negro” Vasquez has been coaching basketball at the The Columbus School for 26 years.

Vasquez graduated from high school in 1986 and after two years playing professional soccer, he was offered a job as a basketball coach at TCS in 1988.

“I had to make the decision between training and going to the interview, so I went to the interview. I had nothing to lose, just one day of training and that’s it,” Vasquez said.

Even though Vasquez was playing soccer at the time, he had previously played basketball in school.

“I began teaching the girls what I knew, what I had learned while training in my school,” Vasquez said.

He continued to play soccer and teaching basketball, but over time he decided to leave soccer due to the violence in Medellin at the time and focus in only one job.

“They kept calling me for at least two months, they wanted to know if I was going to continue playing,” Vasquez said.

But Vasquez didn’t leave soccer behind, he kept playing, but not professionally. Instead he devoted most of his time to being a basketball coach at TCS.

“I used to like playing with students in their free time, most of them are now parents,” Vasquez said.

After 26 years of teaching at TCS, “El Negro“ is loved by many of his students and recognized all around the school.

“El Negro is my favorite teacher, he is super kind, helps me learn and teaches me a lot of games,” one elementary school student said.

Vasquez is not only known for being a basketball coach, he is also known as one of the two P.E. teachers in Elementary School. He engages in multiple games to make class fun and entertaining for students.

“El Negro is a really good teacher. He makes class entertaining by teaching us a lot of cool games,” Alejandro Gomez, a P.E student, said.

When Vasquez had just began teaching at the school he didn’t have much experience as a basketball coach. But now that he has 26 years of experience, he has become a great but strict coach.

“El Negro is a great coach. He might be really strict, but in the end it is always for one reason,” Laura Arango, a former student, said.