Amazon-best selling-author, entrepreneur, sports fanatic and coach. These aren’t descriptions of a celebrity or influencer: they describe West Shore’s Ashur Wiedrich. Wiedrich joined the faculty this school year, teaching English III honors, after previously coaching basketball.

Business

Before teaching and sports, Wiedrich said he was involved in numerous businesses and professional paths.

“I started off as a sports bookie, but FanDuel couldn’t operate in Florida since Hard Rock won the lawsuit, so we would all need to move to Atlanta or New Jersey, which I decided wasn’t worth pursuing,” Wiedrich said.

After these ambitions came to a halt, Wiedrich said he transitioned to an entrepreneurial journey.

“I ran a pressure washing business, and that was out of survival necessity,” he said. “I hated running the business because it just wasn’t something I enjoyed doing.”

“Doing it made me grateful for consistency,” he said. “I don’t get paid a lot as a teacher, but it is reassuring to know when I am getting paid, which simply doesn’t exist with owning a business. There was a month we went without any jobs, so I’ve really developed gratitude for what I’m doing now.”

Wiedrich said he delved more into the entrepreneurial journey when he began authoring his own books under the name “Ashur Storm.” He wrote Jiu-Jitsu fighting thrillers as a coping method after sustaining an injury, and also wrote a pirate book named “No Prey No Pay.” His Amazon best seller, “Finding Cleopatra,” covers 1920s Egyptology and features the expedition to uncover ancient treasures.

“My Egyptian book, ‘Finding Cleopatra,’ was dedicated to my wife,” he said. “She really loves Egyptology and the 1920s, so I put two and two together and wrote the book with the main character being modeled after her.”

Although some of these ventures were difficult for Wiedrich, he said he is proud of the lessons that they taught him.

“I know every job I’ve done, I’ve taken pieces from and it makes you who you are as a man,” he said. “It was an important part of my journey.”

Coaching

Even though Wiedrich just started teaching at the school this year, he isn’t new to West Shore. He was a coach for the boys basketball team, tallying over 43 JV and varsity games in total throughout the season. Wiedrich said his love for coaching comes from a long line of inspirations in his life.

“My grandpa was a coach his whole life, my dad’s a coach and my favorite coach was my English teacher,” he said. “I’ve really emulated them, like how my English teacher had a really cool mustache.”

Wiedrich grew up with his brother tagging along to his father’s football practices, so he extended this tradition to his son and daughter.

“I always brought my kids to practice,” Wiedrich said. “It shows them how coaching can change lives and shows them how to be like a dad. Another great thing is that it also keeps the player’s language clean since there are kids there.”

On the court, Wiedrich has received adoration from his players due to his constant optimism.

“He had a pretty positive outlook on the game,” junior Logan Walsh said. “We’d have a horrible loss losing by 40 points almost every night, yet he was still proud of us and told us that he appreciates our effort.”

Teaching

Wiedrich was previously a substitute for West Shore and a teacher at Heritage High School. With his prior experiences, he said he believes that the teaching process at West Shore is inherently different from other schools.

“One of the biggest differences is drive,” Wiedrich said. “Sure, we all have bad days, but West Shore kids want to learn and understand the importance of school. Other schools don’t understand that, and I felt like I was teaching them to understand the point of school. They thought if they weren’t playing football or basketball, there was no point in going to school.”

Wiedrich said his love for being a teacher comes from the connection with his students.

This love for teaching is recognized by his students.

“He has a funny personality and is able to make learning fun, which lessens the sternness of the teaching environment,” junior Maggie Trevelino said. “His classroom feels like a safe space; it’s always open and welcoming. Sometimes there’s even food for us.”

Walsh said that he felt that he had a genuine connection with Wiedrich as his student and player. “He has crazy ball knowledge on and off the court and brings that to the classroom,” Walsh said. “The way he is able to translate his mindset from basketball to teaching truly inspires me and pushes me more. I feel that every student deserves a teacher like him.”

After all of his other business endeavors, Wiedrich said he knows that teaching is his calling.

“It’s rare in life where you find out where you’re supposed to be, and that’s West Shore to me,” he said.

Wiedrich’s Mission

Throughout all of these different aspects of his life, Wiedrich’s mission stands true: helping other people.

“The happiest I am is when I’m helping other people’s lives be better,” he said. “I couldn’t be a doctor, I couldn’t be an EMT. But I can coach, and I can teach, and that makes people’s lives better.”