Originally published October 23, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified October 23, 2007 at 4:35 PM

Flashback | Phillips a leader on field and in school classroom

Athlete: Ryan Phillips, Franklin, Class of 2000. Sports: Football, basketball, track High-school rewind: Running back/defensive back in...

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Ryan Phillips leads the CFL with 12 interceptions for the BC Lions.

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Athlete: Ryan Phillips, Franklin, Class of 2000.

Sports: Football, basketball, track

High-school rewind: Running back/defensive back in football, where he was twice All-KingCo 4A. A guard for Franklin basketball team that made Class 4A semifinals his senior year, and a sprinter in track.

After high school: Played football at Eastern Washington, where he was first-team All-Big Sky his senior year as a cornerback. After a brief tryout with Seahawks in 2005, Phillips signed as a free agent with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and started as a rookie. Helped Lions win 2006 Grey Cup. This season, he leads CFL with 12 interceptions for Lions, whose 12-3-1 record leads league.

Personal: Phillips, 24, lives in Vancouver, B.C., during season and in Seattle in offseason. He has a 1-year-old son, Ryan.

Fast forward: Phillips is a substitute elementary teacher in Seattle during the offseason. Teaching runs in the family for Phillips, who grew up in Columbia City and studied secondary education at Eastern Washington. His mother, Sherryl Cox, also teaches in Seattle.

"It's a chance for me to help out in the community," Phillips said. "I've always been around it. I love kids."

Phillips hopes to combine two great loves — football and teaching — by becoming a high-school coach when his pro career ends.

Besides picking off passes, Phillips is quite a dancer, "mostly hip-hop and freestyle urban stuff," according to a recent profile in the Vancouver Sun. But Phillips danced away when NFL teams pursued him, recently signing a contract extension with the Lions through 2008.

"I went for the stability," said the 5-foot-10, 195-pound defensive back. "It's close to home so I can't really beat it."

Zach Landres-Schnur

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