The crisp snap of a pickle. A comical grimace. A witty joke. What’s better than a snort-inducing pickle review with a friendly face like Coach Naps?

Michael Napoleon, a member of the Kinetic Wellness faculty, has been conducting pickle reviews on Instagram under the name Coach Naps for two years, bringing family, friends, and students at New Trier together.

It all began just before Covid hit. Napoleon’s son, Dusty Napoleon, got him a membership to the Pickle of the Month club, as Dusty knew how much Napoleon enjoyed pickles. The club sent Napoleon multiple jars of pickles– from spicy, to dill, to butter pickles. 

“I would get two jars in a box sent to me each month for six months. Then Covid hit, and I wasn’t really eating them, and there were just so many pickles you can have. So I started doing these pickle reviews so that my son Dusty would know that I’m tasting [these pickles] as a gift for him,” said Napoleon.

Initially, Napoleon would review pickles with other coaches and his sister; but as his followers on Instagram grew, he’s now up to 700, students started coming up to him asking to be a part of his reviews. 

One of his followers, Tyler Hardin, commented on his June 2, 2021 post saying, “Call me up next week, Coach.” 

Juniors Becca Arleson (left) and Sydney Jackier (right) did a pickle review with Napoleon during his eighth period class on June 2, 2021.

In Napoleon’s pickle reviews, students bring in their own pickles, typically homemade, and both Napoleon and the students rate a pickle from zero to five based on several factors: taste, crispness, and how often you would use it as a condiment for a sandwich, or other foods.

“Naps kind of gives an upfront and honest opinion on whoever’s pickles he’s reviewing,” said Robert “Bob” Spagnoli, a member of the Kinetic Wellness Department and the only person to ever score a perfect five on Napoleon’s pickle reviews.

Napoleon critiques pickles based on his own preferences. He acknowledges that some pickles might be better served with a meal versus by themselves.

“Naps likes more of a cold, dill pickle. So if somebody has more of a sweet pickle, maybe that’s not his own personal preference, but he won’t necessarily bash that pickle. I think it’s really fair,” said Spagnoli.

Napoleon has always loved pickles, so to some, his pickle reviews didn’t come as a surprise.

“We’ve been friends for like, 35 years. I know Naps has always enjoyed pickles. If you ever see the guy at Meier’s Tavern, and he orders a cheeseburger, he always orders extra pickles with it. And you’re always like, ‘Dude, how many pickle slices do you need?’ So, I mean, you always knew the guy liked pickles,” said Spagnoli.

Napoleon’s intention for his pickle reviews was to give some casual, lighthearted content for people to enjoy.

“I do reviews just to see people laugh. That’s it. Just to see the smiles on their faces, and make a comment like, ‘Oh, come on, that was a good pickle!’ It’s just something to kind of eliminate all the seriousness, and just have fun,” said Napoleon. 

He never expected his pickle reviews to go viral, and they affected students in more ways than he imagined.

“It definitely brought light into some not very fun times. And Naps is a great gym teacher, so I think it was a great way to bond with him as well,” said junior Sydney Jackier.

Especially during Covid, Napoleon’s pickle reviews gave students an opportunity to know him better despite Zoom.

“The reviews just show Naps and his personality. By having this Instagram, doing this quirky thing that no one would expect from the baseball coach of New Trier, it shows just how down to earth he is, and how you can really relate to him. He’s just a really awesome teacher,” said junior Becca Arleson. 

Alongside the pickle reviews themselves, Napoleon’s personality makes his content shine.

“His reviews are really entertaining. They’re nothing out of this world. But when you see Coach Naps, and hear him, you think it’s so cool. You consume his media without noticing. Coach Naps is what makes these reviews special,” said alum Salomon Beyloune, a freshman at Michigan State University.

Napoleon was able to take his love for pickles and turn it into something that made people’s day.

“With his pickle reviews, the humor is there. And he’s opening up people’s palates,” said Spagnoli. “I mean, everyone pretty much eats pickles, and it puts a smile on everybody’s face when they watch it. Everybody cracks up at it, it’s a good thing.”