After the Bell with CCHS Staffulty Member Randall Pryor
Have you ever wondered what teachers and staff do when they are not at school? We decided to find out!
This is one in a series of stories about some of Central Catholic’s staffulty members and what they like to do after the bell rings at the end of the day. Some have surprising hobbies; others have creative talents. With this series, we hope to shine a spotlight on the special people who work with our students every day!
Sole Searching
This is Randall Pryor’s second year at Central Catholic, and he teaches Nutrition, Physical Education, and Weightlifting & Fitness classes. He is also an assistant coach with the Fighting Irish boys’ basketball team. Randall attended E.L. Bowsher High School and graduated in 2015. He earned a Bachelor of Science in sports coaching and recreation from The Ohio State University in 2019. He previously worked as a varsity assistant boys’ basketball coach at Roy C. Start High School and Director of Youth Development: Sports & Recreation at the Ann Arbor YMCA.
If you see Randall on a regular basis, you may notice that he wears a lot of colorful sneakers. He has been collecting sneakers since 2020 and can officially be labeled a sneakerhead - a person who collects, trades, and has a deep knowledge of sneakers, often viewing them as a hobby or a form of self-expression.
“When I was younger, I was taught there is an outside shoe, a school/church shoe, and then your basketball shoe,” Randall explained. “There were many shoes that I was not able to get while I was growing up. Now that I’m older, I can go back and get those nostalgic shoes that many people dreamed about.”
Randall collects Nike, Jordan, and Adidas sneakers. He usually focuses on basketball sneakers due to the comfort factor and the overall looks, including bright colors and unique styles. The first pair that started his collection was the Old Skool Van Yacht Club. “This is the one that said, “You can do it, and you have the funds to supply it,’” Randall recalled.
Randall decides what he wants to collect based on pretty simple standards. “1 - Do I like it? 2 - Would I wear it? 3 - Can I afford it?” he said. “Finding the sneakers involves time and patience. You can find anything if you are patient and have friends in different places of the country. Social media - when used positively - can be your friend and contribute to your success. It also helps to have connections with Footlocker, DSG, and resellers in Toledo and Ann Arbor. I rarely pay more than the retail price of a shoe.”
He now has enough shoes to be able to wear a DIFFERENT pair for every game of a basketball season, changing at every half if he really wanted to. He tries to wear every pair in his sneaker collection, but factors like the weather, his active lifestyle as a player and coach, and occasions that call for business attire can make it challenging to wear them all.
Randall’s favorite pair in his sneaker collection would probably be the Kobe 6 Grinch because his favorite player, Kobe Bryant, wore that shoe during an NBA Christmas game. “It was the Christmas debut of Kobe vs. the Miami Heat Big 3 of Lebron, Wade, and Bosh,” he recalled. “It was unfortunately a tough 96-80 loss, but the all-white jersey with the Lakers gold, and the bright green neon shoes with red laces was top tier.”
One pair he’d like to have that he hasn’t obtained so far is the Retro Jordan 4 Toro. They’ve been on his radar for a while, and he’s hoping to get them when they are rereleased in the spring of 2026.
Previous Editions of “After the Bell”
Tye Turner (September)
Elaine Gabalac (October)
