Jeff Eshleman has been the chess advisor at Penn Manor since 2016. He didn't set out to coach chess — he stepped in because nobody else did, and the team needed someone. Nearly a decade later, he's still there.
How did you end up in the role?
"Our previous chess advisor retired and I was concerned that the team wasn't going to continue. I didn't play on the chess team at my high school but I really enjoyed being a part of the club and I wanted to be part of providing that experience here at Penn Manor."
What's changed in the league since you joined?
"We've had some teams that have come and gone but we've retained a solid group that really have fun playing against each other."
What's the hardest part of the job?
"The hardest part for me is always making sure we have enough players. Most of my players are involved in various activities and sometimes they have other commitments that prevent them from getting to our matches."
What kind of student finds their way to the chess team?
"I think a quality that I've seen in my players is a general curiosity to keep learning about the game — and that seems to be a theme among the students that join the team. Most of them enjoy going over their matches and determining if there would have been other ways to play things out."
A moment that's stuck with you?
"I am always impressed by the energy of the end of year tournament that we've played at Ephrata over the last couple of years. It's really fun to get all of the schools together and the students really enjoy the format of playing shorter matches. It's been a great way to end the season."
What would you say to a teacher thinking about starting a team?
"There are certainly a lot of ways to play chess online but I think that it's really worthwhile to be able to provide space and time for our students to meet in person to play against each other. All of the advisors are great to work with and it's really a great way to get to know your students outside of school."