Farmer fills community need as coach, substitute teacher

DIXON, Ill. — For Lee County farmer Aaron Book, coaching a local high school basketball team was a natural next step.

“I have always loved sports, I’m a sports nut,” said Book, who farms with his parents, uncle and brother on the family’s grain farm between Amboy and Dixon.

As a student at the University of Illinois, Book coached a co-ed track and cross country team at University High School in Urbana.

He returned home to farm after graduating from the U of I in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in ag business.

It wasn’t long before a friend called asking Book to coach at the local high school level — but with a bit of a twist.

“He said, would you be interested in being the freshman basketball coach? He said it’s the girls team. I thought about it and I said I’ll give it a try,” Book said.

More than a decade later, Book is a fixture in Dixon High School girls basketball, still in the role of the DHS Duchesses junior varsity basketball coach.

And as a coach, Book has seen the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the school, on teachers and students up close.

“In January, we had a lot of teachers out, we had a lot of students out sick, we were just trying to keep the schools open. We had principals teaching. We had other teachers who were using their planning periods to go cover other classrooms,” Book said.

The other coaches on the DHS basketball coaching squad urged Book to add another credential to his coaching résumé.

“They were joking with me, saying you farm and it’s cold outside, would you ever think about getting your substitute teaching license?” Book said.

Book, a decade away from college and his classroom days, had doubts.

“I thought — I haven’t done algebra in a while, and all the other subjects I haven’t done since college,” Book said.

But he did some research into how to obtain a substitute teaching license and what, exactly, substitute teachers are expected to do.

Book applied via the Illinois State Board of Education website, sent in his U of I transcript, paid a fee and in a few days he had a substitute teaching license.

“I’m a big fan of supporting my local community and helping out as much as I possibly can. I think it’s important to help out and whenever there’s a need, to fill it if you can,” Book said.

With a few days of teaching now under his belt, Book said his fears about not knowing how or what to teach were put to bed by the teachers whose classes he’s covered. He’s substituted for classes including choir, band, a study hall and special education.

“The teachers I substituted for were very organized. They had templates made out of specific directions, with what to do. The students all have Chromebooks and they do their work on those or they have packets of worksheets and they keep themselves busy with those,” Book said.

One thing he enjoys about the coaching and, now, the substitute teaching, is that both jobs leave him the flexibility to devote time to his family and the family farm.

Book and his wife, Kathy, have two young sons. Working with young people and giving time to the local community is something that runs in their family.

Kathy Book is the 4-H Youth Program coordinator for U of I Extension in Lee County.

“With the substitute teaching, you don’t have to do it every single day. I want to work around my schedule and be flexible. I still need to be at the farm a lot of days, but when it’s cold and snowy, I can take a day and go help out,” Aaron Book said.

From the basketball court, now to the classroom, one of the most important things Book said he wants to do is to be a strong, positive role model for young people.

“A big reason I coach is to be a good role model. I want to be someone they can come to for support, if they need to. It’s about more than basketball or agriculture, it’s about showing up and being a mentor and a positive role model for these kids, to be someone who is here for them as they are growing up in our community,” he said.