Veteran Lithuanian Basketball โCommentator Vaidas ฤeponis embarks on Teaching Career
Vilnius,lithuania โฃ- After more than 20 years asโค a prominent basketball commentator,Vaidas ฤeponis is โbeginning โa new chapter asโฃ a Lithuanian โlanguage and literatureโ teacher at Vilnius Maironis progymnasium.โข ฤeponis, a graduate โฃof Vilnius University, shared he had been contemplating a career change for a few years, feeling the need for something new.
He admitted to โฃexperiencing unexpected nervousness beforeโค starting โขhis new role,stating,”Iโข didn’t worry even on a live broadcast,when there were important โcompetitions,listening to thousands of people. And this night was really excited,I slept very easily.”
ฤeponis’s wife, Lina, is also a teacher of Lithuanian language and literature, providing both understanding and support.โฃ School principal Lina Tamulytฤ praised ฤeponis’s dedication, noting, “This is โprobably one of the first cases in my โคpractice when I see a person so responsibly preparing for the new school year.” She โadded that evenโ if teaching โขproved unsuccessful, a position would be found for him, jokingly suggesting roles in the school canteen or as โฃa security guard.
Throughout the summer, ฤeponis diligently studied Lithuanian language and literature materials, even playfully referencing a recent three-week teaching practice as nearlyโ thirty years of experience.
ฤeponis expressed his primary goal as a teacher is to instill a love ofโฃ books inโ his students, a passion he attributes to his own Lithuanianโ language teachers. He intends to find a balanceโข between being approachableโ and โคmaintaining discipline, saying, “I’ll look for โthe middleโฃ of the gold – how not to be โtoo good and too strict. Maybe โyou’ll need a gingerbread, or sometimes a โgentle bison.”
While acknowledging he received attention from students and parents during the September 1st celebration, ฤeponis expressed a hope to eventually fade from public recognition, stating, “I hope that inโ a few โคyears I will disappear from the ether, I will noโค longer recognize me and live more calmly.”
