For Keith Bosch, taking the job as manager at the Roger Fay Pool in Williston Park this year was a natural progression.
“I’ve had plenty of camp experience,”said Bosch, a physical education teacher who has worked at summer camps. “I love working with kids. I love teaching kids.”
Bosch, 30, has worked as a physical education teacher at West Hempstead High School for the past seven years and has also coached baseball and track there. He’s taking a position as a physical education teacher in Rockville Centre High School this fall.
He has also worked with Adelphi University baseball coach Dom Scala at Scala’s baseball camps for two years. And he’s also spent years as assistant director of the West Hempstead SCOPE summer camp.
Bosch said he heard through the grapevine about the opening at the pool in Williston Park and thought it would be very similar to summer camp work.
So far, he said, he’s enjoying the experience.
“You can’t complain about working in a pool in the summer. I’m an outdoor guy,” Bosch said.
He said the Williston Park residents have been nice to him and have complimented him on the condition of the pool and grounds.
“The people are great. It’s nice to see people coming here and enjoying themselves,” he said.
Bosch said he was involved in sports while growing up in West Hempstead, pitching for the Bayside Yankees elite travel team.
One of his former teammates, Jimmy Johnson, is a relief pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles who appeared in the 2012 All Star Game.
“I was very athletic when I was younger. I always wanted to find something where I could be close to athletics,” Bosch said.
He said he has aunts, uncles and cousins who are or were physical education teachers, so he naturally gravitated to a career in that field.
He earned a bachelor of science degree in physical education degree and a masters degree in health from Adelphi University.
Bosch said he has worked to maintain the Williston Park pool as it has been run in past years.
But drawing on his camp experience, he’s also added some new wrinkles, developing games for children to play at the adjacent Kelleher Field.
In his current position, he oversees a staff of 25 pool attendants and 21 lifeguards. He was involved in hiring eight new employees.
A Massapequa resident, Bosch enjoys jet skiing and exercising his two golden retrievers in his free time.
But these days, he said he’s spending his free time preparing for the baby his wife, Kristin, are expecting this fall.
Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
