Many of us are used to clear boundaries: sport is one world, music another. Work is work, personal life something completely separate. School means responsibilities, while the stage represents freedom.
But for Singurs Zariņš, such boundaries do not exist. He is a sports teacher, yet his everyday life is enriched by diverse forms of expression both at school and beyond working hours. In his daily routine, movement and rhythm, discipline and creativity, sport and music do not exist in separate compartments – they merge into one whole. It is precisely at this meeting point that his attitude towards work, young people and life in general takes shape.
Singurs Zariņš is a sports teacher at Talsi State Gymnasium, Deputy Head for Education, a mentor for the student council, and the leader of the school’s vocal and instrumental ensemble “Sound Check.” Alongside all this, he is constantly on the move outside school as well – he regularly plays hockey, volleyball and floorball, and performs with the band “No Boundaries,” taking part in various concerts and events.
His interest in sports began already during primary school. As a child growing up and studying in Auce, a major inspiration in his life was sports teacher Lauris Špels from Auce Secondary School, who introduced Singurs to handball. At the time, handball became his greatest passion, and he even seriously considered pursuing it professionally. Later, when his family moved to Sabile, the sports environment changed: volleyball replaced handball, while music began to play an increasingly important role in his life.
Singurs’ father played the trumpet, his mother the accordion, and his sisters the violin and flute.
“In such a musical family, I didn’t really have much choice… But it wasn’t pressure – rather a natural outcome,” he recalls with a smile.
Music school, piano lessons, later drums in a brass band, and guitar learned independently – music gradually became his second language of expression. In sports, meanwhile, he was inspired by his teachers Andris Šņoriņš and Georgs Lukjanovičs, whose personalities remain a benchmark for him.
“There was calmness, respect, and their own way of living. They never looked down on anyone – whether you were an athlete or not. Every student wanted to attend their lessons.”
After finishing secondary school, Singurs faced a choice – to build his career around sport or music. Instead, he chose an alternative: pedagogy, which now allows him to combine both fields in his daily life, working with young people through movement and sport as well as rhythm and music.
It is important to him that work and everyday life are not monotonous.
“I like variety – I change environments: one moment I’m in a sports class, the next in an ensemble, then working with the student council or on projects. I cannot imagine spending five days a week just entering a classroom and living my whole life within four walls,” says Singurs.
For Singurs, Talsi State Gymnasium is not only a workplace – it was once his own school as well. One of the teachers who once inspired him in sports, Andris Šņoriņš, is now his colleague, and the two work side by side. Returning to his former school as a teacher initially felt unusual.
“When a student becomes a colleague of their former teachers, it takes time to adjust. At first it felt a little strange, but from the very first day in the teacher’s shoes I also felt a strong sense of belonging to this school.”
Singurs sees many similarities between sport and music:
“In both fields there is breathing, warm-ups, body awareness, preparation. You learn to be present and to give energy to others.”
According to him, the greatest reward when working with young people cannot be measured by results or diplomas. He sees himself as one piece of the puzzle in a young person’s development – not the decisive one, but still important.
“You see how a young person changes from someone shy and withdrawn into someone who can confidently stand on stage or on the playing field, lift their eyes and face the audience. Three years can transform a person.”
Singurs believes that real growth comes through practical experience, and he sees the student council as an excellent environment for this. There, young people learn to organise events, solve problems, take responsibility and evaluate their own work.
“These are life skills. You cannot learn them in a single lesson,” Singurs explains.
It is exactly these experiences – learning by doing, making mistakes and reflecting on the process – that he wants to make accessible to students so that after school they are more confident, independent and better prepared for real life.
Talsi State Gymnasium is one of the schools where a sports infrastructure improvement project supported by EU funds has been implemented – a new sports hall has been built. Singurs has experienced the school both before and after the renovation, and he says the difference is significant.
“Now this is an environment where it is a pleasure to be. It is safe, organised, and offers young people far more opportunities. At the same time, it is important to emphasise that while a modern environment is certainly a great motivator to be physically active, young people also need to have the desire to move,” he says.
In his view, the most important source of motivation for young people is the example set by families and teachers – not only in words but also in actions. This is why Singurs himself chooses to remain active and lead by example: participating, exercising and making use of opportunities.
His advice to other young sports teachers – and, in fact, to all of us – is not to lose ourselves in the rush of everyday life and not to confine ourselves to a single role while chasing one big goal. Instead, he encourages people to think about their long-term well-being, about what gives them energy and allows them to maintain joy in both work and life.
“You shouldn’t live only for one big goal all the time. You need to notice and enjoy the small victories and everyday joys,” says Singurs, reminding us that lasting motivation and genuine satisfaction are often found precisely there.
The renovation of the sports hall at Talsi State Gymnasium was implemented with support from European Union funds during the 2014–2020 programming period. Within the project “Improving the Learning Environment in General Education Institutions,” municipalities implemented projects to modernise school infrastructure and material resources – including sports infrastructure – so that students would have safer, more modern and more comprehensive opportunities for learning and physical activity.
EU fund investments in school infrastructure in Latvia continue purposefully also during the 2021–2027 programming period. In this period, the measure “Provision of Educational Institutions for the Quality Implementation of the Improved General Education Curriculum in Basic and Secondary Education” is being implemented, ensuring the continuity of educational environment development and its alignment with the requirements of modern curricula.
This story has been created with the support of European Union funds.
