Photos by DAVID MIKHAIL and BRIANNA GALARZA

By RYAN ARANDA

There are over 100 well-respected staff members at Redlands East Valley, and amongst them, there is one pair of brothers: Ted and Bryan Ducey.

Ted Ducey, 34 and the elder of the two, is an Earth Science teacher, as well as the Badminton coach here at REV. After graduating from the REV in 1999, he worked as a substitute teacher.  For four years now, Ted has been teaching REV Wildcats full-time. He states that he made the decision to return to his former high school due to his “good experiences as a student and substitute teacher here.”

This year will be Ted’s first as the REV Badminton coach. Previously, he was an assistant coach at the college basketball level for the University of Redlands and for REV’s freshman girl’s basketball team.

For the upcoming season, Ted expects his team to “learn how to take advantage of their time, while enhancing their education through athletics.” The team has started off with a league record of 1-1, and while winning is an obvious goal, they would also like to “come out and compete in every practice and match.”

Bryan Ducey, 31, teaches both World History and Economics at REV. He explained that he returned to REV as a teacher because there is no where else he would rather be, and he wants to be near his brother.

Bryan, like his brother, is also an alumni of REV, having graduated in the class of 2003. As a Wildcat student, he was involved in numerous activities and sports. He fondly recalls his time being the pep commissioner of his class, winning the baseball team’s first ever league title, and playing in his first football playoff game.

In addition to teaching, Bryan has been coaching basketball at the U of R for nine seasons, and now, he coaches alongside his father, Jim, and the youngest of the Ducey brothers, Jake.  Although the team had a rough start to the year, Bryan stated that they would finish strong, “playing their best basketball at the end of the season.” During the course of this season, Coach Jim Ducey earned his 200th career win following a huge win over the University of La Verne.

When asked of the relationship with their brothers, they both immediately answered, “close”. The Ducey’s spoke of how they spend a great deal of time together, including having lunch together everyday.

The two brothers have a countless number of memories with each other.
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When asked of a special recollection of Bryan, Ted remembered one of himself as a young child at the pool with his father and brother during his swimming lessons. His father was helping Ted do a flip into the pool when Ted exclaimed, “Bryan, watch this!” Following his flip, Bryan, a two-year old toddler at the time, then proclaimed, “Hey, Ted, watch this!”  He dove into the pool all on his own. Ted reflected on how his younger brother, even as a youngster, always loved to go off of the high-dive.  He was a “natural”.

Bryan recalled when he was a freshman student at the U of R.  He got the opportunity to play on the baseball team with Ted, who was four grade levels above Bryan but was a senior at the time due to a medical redshirt.  He was appreciative of his experience on the team with his brother because they never had the chance to go to school together.

Ted and Bryan have a special bond with one another that continues to grow through their time spent at REV together.