Ray Del Fava

Mr. Ray Del Fava is a passionate teacher who sacrifices a lot for his family, players and students.

The popular English teacher and Bruce Springsteen fanatic is busy year-round. He is an assistant coach for Varsity Girls golf during the fall, a scorekeeper during the basketball season, and head coach for the Boys Varsity baseball team in the spring.

“Ray Delfava is a man of integrity who is passionate about his students — whether it be in the English classroom, the golf course or on the baseball diamond,” said English teacher Mrs. Konz. “However, my favorite thing about Ray is his wicked sense of humor. His sharp wit always makes me laugh…or roll my eyes.”

On weekends Del Fava and his wife Elizabeth Del Fava, an administrative assistant at LFHS, travel to watch their daughter, Kate, who is a dominant member of the Illinois State soccer team.

“Coach is a guy with a lot of experience and success, and the guys on the [baseball] team have a lot of respect for him,” said senior outfielder Charlie Marks.

Senior Catherine Greub said she appreciates Del Fava’s sense of humor and commitment to his students.

“While Mr. Del Fava constantly cracks jokes with his students, he genuinely cares about what they are learning and how he can help. His door is always open to any of his students who need to talk or need a more in-depth explanation about the topic discussed in class. Even when you receive a ‘not so great grade’ on a test, like me, Mr. Del Fava walks you through the corrections to make sure you have learned from your mistakes,” she said.