Joe Schick balancing role as middle school vice principal along with MMA dream: 'It's great to keep that competitive edge'

Bantamweight prospect Joe Schick readily admits he got a bit of a late start on his MMA career, but he's got a really good explanation for it. A lifelong wrestler, Schick didn't immediately make the transition to cagefighting for one simple reason: He was busy being a middle school vice principal.

"I got busy with work and kind of had to put fighting on the backburner," Schick said.

Schick made his professional debut in 2016, then fought twice in 2017 and once in 2018 before he was forced to slow things down to focus on his day job. However he returned to the cage a little more than one year ago and has already picked up a pair of wins under the CFFC banner, and he's now looking to make it three straight.

It's not exactly easy for Schick to fit in the necessary training alongside his role as vice principal, but his passion for competition drives him to find a balance.

"I work about 45 minutes away from home, so I'm up out of the house by 5:30 a.m., and I get to work around 6:15 a.m., and then I leave right away after school," Schick explained. "I usually go home, see my kids for like a half-hour or 45 minutes and then head to training. If I don't do that, then there would be weeks where I wouldn't see them, so I head home and then leave again around 6 p.m. to go train and from 7 to 10, 10:30 depending on what's going on, and then head home and do it all over again."

As one might expect, Schick takes his share of bumps and bruises along the way, a fact that doesn't go unnoticed by his students.

"They know because I come in a little banged up sometimes – black eye here and there or a scratch or something," Schick said. "They all ask, 'When's the fight? Can we watch it on TV?'

"My last fight I had, it was like right before Christmas break, so the last day of school, I left a little early. They were all in the gym, like cheering for me and gave me a little send-off before the fight. It was cool."

On Saturday, those students can watch Shick (4-2) compete on UFC FIGHT PASS, when he takes on Dwayne Holman (3-7) at CFFC 113, which streams live from Parx Casino in Bensalem, Penn.

Schick said he mostly relies on his coaches at Dante Rivera Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to break down tape and build gameplans, but he's excited from what he does know about the matchup.

"I know he's like a standup, muay Thai kickboxer, which is a pretty good matchup for me because I'm a wrestler," Schick said. "I can look to take it to the ground. I'm sure he's going to want to keep it standing.

"I wrestled since I was a young kid and through college, so that's always what the gameplan is – wear him down, that wrestling grind, and then take it to the ground, you know?"

A victory would give Schick a four-fight win streak, including a perfect 3-0 since his layoff. At 36, Schick knows he doesn't have the longest window remaining in which to compete, but he's encouraged by the current direction of his career, especially since dropping down to 135 pounds.

"Right now, I'm undefeated at 135," Schick said. "I started amateur at '55 and went 5-0 there, and when I went to a pro, I went '45. I was 1-2. I probably should have cut down a little bit, but I didn't really think I could make '35. My coach had me do a trial cut to '35, and I made it pretty good, so I transitioned to '35, and I'm undefeated there, so I feel good.

"I'm older than like all of my training partners. They're all like 30 and younger. I'll be 37 next month, but it's good because they keep me young. I feel good, so I'm going to keep going until it's too much, and if a big show happens, then it happens."

Either way, Schick is proud of his accomplishments in both of his careers. With the support of his family, not to mention his students, he's been able to pursue his passion, and he'll be satisfied with knowing he chased that to its fullest.

"It's great to keep that competitive edge," Schick said. "I got a late start, but I figured I might as well do it now rather than regret it down the road."