Bill Fletcher

I had the privilege of playing three seasons of soccer for Bill Fletcher at St. Joseph's (and a season or two of off-season soccer too), and while I was so saddened to hear of Bill's passing, I continue to be inspired by his example and the legacy that he's left behind. Bill was an excellent tactician and field general as a coach, a mentor to those who needed one, and a genuinely good and loyal guy. While always maintaining the discipline necessary to succeed as a team, Bill always treated us with respect (even though there were many times that we probably didn't deserve it) and had a great sense of humor. I remember particularly the time that Scott Platz and I rigged the voting for the team captains (we were only in 10th grade, so Bill was really surprised to see our names among the leading vote-getters)--we all had a good laugh after confessing to it. Making Coach Fletcher laugh was one of the great joys of playing for him. Winning was also fun, and we did a lot of that thanks to Bill's leadership.

After I left St. Joe's and had a much less positive experience playing under a different coach, I began to think about what made Bill such an effective leader. I came to the conclusion that it was his ability to really understand and connect with his players on a personal level--he'd figure out what made you tick and how to get the best out of you. Of course, it also helped that he was such a great guy that you'd want to run through walls for him.

Bill Fletcher passed far too soon, but I think it's a tribute to him that there were people all over this country calling and e-mailing each other to talk about him. I'm now in North Carolina and first heard about Bill's passing from a friend in Connecticut who got a call from one of our other teammates in Salt Lake City. I'm certain that these kinds of calls having been going out regularly for the past couple weeks because Bill was such a positive influence on so many people's lives. If we all tried to make the same kind of impression on others' lives as Bill Fletcher did on ours, the world would be a much better place.

My sincerest condolences to Aric, Angie and the other members of Bill's family.

Mike Slipsky
St. Joseph Catholic High School, 1993-1996