The typical walk into the high school building every morning might seem dull, but science teacher Keith Baremore keeps Eureka High School’s entrance full of animated smiles. For over 20 years, Baremore has stood just inside the school entrance with a small football, tossing it to all sorts of people.
His previous student, Morgan Bartels, 12, stands alongside him some mornings to chat before the school day. She watches as he throws
his football to students.
“People are always laughing at him or trying to dodge him because they don’t want to get the football thrown at them,” Bartels said. “But it’s really fun because it makes the mornings a little more enjoyable.”
Along with unsuspecting students, Baremore throws the football to a variety of staff and visitors.
“I throw it at everybody,” Baremore said. “I throw it at parents who come in, I throw it to Dr. Sink, I throw it to principals, I throw it to teachers. I throw it to the FedEx delivery guy. I’m an equal opportunity thrower.”
With throwing the football as much as Baremore does, he’s gotten comfortable figuring out who he should and shouldn’t throw it to. He specifically looks for certain facial expressions or other cues to determine when he should toss.
“I can tell people that I shouldn’t throw it to; people that act annoyed,” Baremore said. “I look for people that make eye contact and will hold their hand up like they’re ready for me to throw it.”
A few years ago, Baremore made a mistake that turned into a lesson on how to throw and not to throw the football.
“I did knock a phone out of someone’s hands,” Baremore said. “Now I miss people on purpose.”
Having caught the football all four years of high school, Reece Williams, 12, finds it enjoyable.
“It’s pretty funny,” Williams said. “Other people might not like it, but I think it’s pretty fun.”
Baremore tosses the football almost every school day, and coming up on his final year before retirement, he’s done this for over 3,000 days
. First year science teacher, Braden Leuthauser, attended Eureka and graduated with the class of 2017. Having been one of Baremore’s students, Leuthauser stepped up and started throwing the football with Baremore in the morning.
“I was joking around about him throwing the football, and so he brought me one,” Leuthauser said. “When he leaves, I want to maybe take over the reins and, you know, have some fun.”
Along with Leuthauser, countless Eureka students and alumni have been impacted by the football and the energy that it brings. Graduates have even mentioned it during their graduation speeches, which highlights the impact football has.
“Everyone knows who he is,” Bartels said. “Everyone knows he is the teacher with the football.”
Although next year, Baremore plans on retiring, students will never forget one of the greatest legacies that have come out of Eureka High School. Head principal, Dr. Corey Sink understands the value and importance of Baremore and his football.
“He just does a good job of connecting the kids, you know, it’s fun,” Sink said. “It’s become something he’s known for and I think that’s pretty cool.”
