School teacher by day, pro hockey player by night
(FOX 9) - As the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoffs get closer, the Minnesota Whitecaps are trying to crest at the right time with players like Audra Morrison making a splash.
Morrison is third on the team in goals and in total points this season.. But when she’s not schooling her opponents, inside a school’s walls is where you’ll find her schooling students as well.
"(My students) are like, ‘What? There’s no way. You’re just a gym teacher,’" Morrison told FOX9. "Once they actually realize that I am a professional hockey player, they get really into it."
Audra is also the physical education teacher at Randolph Heights Elementary School in St. Paul. The Whitecaps forward does her best to keep her students on their toes, while they do the same in return.
"My body’s more tired when I’m playing hockey, and my brain is more exhausted when I’m teaching," Morrison said. "I’ll have to give up hockey eventually, but I won’t give up teaching."
The bond at her school often goes beyond the gym and jumps over to the ice rink with the Whitecaps.
Students often watch her play in person at home games, and virtually on the road. Her biggest fans are also some of her biggest critics.
"Some of them will tell me, "Oh, your team struggled this weekend,’" Morrison said with a smile. "So, I’m like, ‘Thank you! Yep!’"
As the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoffs get closer, the Minnesota Whitecaps are trying to crest at the right time with players like Audra Morrison making a splash - when she's not teaching a class.
Leave it to kids to keep it real with a real-life pro athlete – one proving to be an example for the next generation.
"I think it’s cool that they can look to me and my teammates as role models," Morrison said. "Especially the little girls in the school."
"We have a lot of kids that look up to her, but certainly the little girls look up to her," Randolph Heights Principal Tim Williams said.
But those same students can serve as teachers, too.
"I’ve learned to keep my passion," Morrison said. "I look at how excited these kids are and it makes me believe that I am here for a reason."
She is also carrying on somewhat of a legacy at the school – her dad was the previous physical education teacher at Randolph Heights, the post she currently occupies.