Staying Strong

Building sub Mr. Fletcher has overcome great adversity.
 
By Eric Harvey
Magazine/Opinion Editor
 
Nobody knows adversity like new building substitute Mr. Fletcher.

Towering at 6-foot-6, Mr. Fletcher may appear to be a commanding and confident man, who demands nothing short of greatness from his students. However, it wasn’t too long ago when the man known as
Coach Keith was extremely depressed due to severe knee injuries that took away his passion in the blink of an eye.

Mr. Fletcher, who came to Woodlynde this year and also works as an assistant coach, attended six high schools because most of them weren’t a good fit. In fact, at one school, he said he was the only African American student and he endured constant racial bullying.

Despite all of his challenges in high school, Mr. Fletcher was a star forward/center for his school’s varsity basketball team, averaging 14 points per game his senior year.

Mr. Fletcher continued playing basketball at the Division III level at Rosemont College, where he was one of the star players, as well. He averaged 10 points per game as a freshman and sophomore, and was enjoying life as a star scholar-athlete.

However, his basketball career came to a sudden end during his sophomore year. At a late-night shootaround session, he came down after taking a jump shot and heard his left knee pop. Mr. Fletcher collapsed to the ground, crying from the excruciating pain. His teammate had to carry him to the ambulance, which rushed him to the emergency room.

Mr. Fletcher knew it wasn’t a good sign when he couldn’t move his knee without feeling sharp pain.
 
                         TORN ACL
He had torn his ACL, along with the meniscus, and surgery was required.

“All I could do from that point on was to stay positive and pray on it,” Mr. Fletcher said.

This was his first ever major injury and the whole situation was a trying experience for Mr. Fletcher to handle. It was a “depressing point of my life,” he recalled. “I was in a bad place for two years after that.”

Basketball — his great love, the thing he was most known for — was taken away from him forever in a matter of seconds.

After two months, he tried to get back on the court. It didn’t work out, though, as he still felt tremendous pain and his knee swelled up.

After many hardships caused by the injury and after coming to terms with the fact that he would never be the same player again, Mr. Fletcher realized that what he had to do now was focus on his grades and a future career.

Mr. Fletcher, who double-majored in Theology and Ethical Leadership, wanted to work with kids in some way, but wasn’t sure how.

In his junior year, Mr. Fletcher decided to become a coach. He could use his past experiences to “become a better coach than I ever was a player.”
 
“THE BEST FEELING OF MY ENTIRE LIFE”
Mr. Fletcher recently graduated from Rosemont with a bachelor’s degree, which he described as, “The best feeling of my entire life.”

He applied for a job as an assistant basketball coach at Woodlynde, and Athletic Director
Mr. Purdy brought him in for an interview, then hired him.

Mr. Fletcher was then hired as a building substitute this past winter by Head of School
Dr. Fulco, who was impressed with Mr. Fletcher’s work with the basketball team. Dr. Fulco also knew he was interested in teaching.

“I am very thankful that the job was open for me,” Mr. Fletcher said.

Mr. Fletcher said he loves working with the students and faculty at Woodlynde, whose environment has far exceeded his original expectations.

Mr. Fletcher hopes to stay at Woodlynde for many years to come. He especially enjoys: “Watching assembly every day as we all come together as we get our day started; hearing Mr. Shank say, ‘Make it a great day’; Dr. Fulco’s corny jokes; seeing the basketball players, members of my strength and conditioning club, [and] my colleagues.

“I’ve grown to love it. I wouldn’t trade these individuals for anyone or anything.”

Dr. Fulco is thrilled that Mr. Fletcher joined the school’s faculty.

"Mr. Fletcher has connected very well with our students and, as a recent college graduate who fought through adversity to achieve a college degree, demonstrates the grit and resilience we try to instill in Woodlynde students,” Dr. Fulco said.
                      
                   “NEVER GIVE UP”
Mr. Fletcher has a quiet demeanor in the classroom, but he is demanding. The school’s student-athletes work hard for him, so he started an after school strength and conditioning club.

His advice for students dealing with adversity is: “Never give up.”

“Adversity is going to follow you all through your life,” he said.

“There’s always going to be someone who doesn’t like you or doesn’t want you to belong. Just make sure you earn what you get in life and learn that nothing is handed to you. Work hard and you can be whatever you want to be.”
 
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Woodlynde School is a private, co-ed college prep day school located in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that serves intelligent, talented students with learning differences in grades K - 12. Woodlynde provides a comprehensive, evidence-based Kindergartenelementarymiddle and high school program in a challenging yet nurturing environment for students with average to above average cognitive abilities (IQ) who have language- or math-based learning differences (such as Dyslexia, Dysgraphia or Dyscalculia), Executive Function Challenges, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or Auditory Processing Disorder. Even for those students without a diagnosed learning disability (LD), Woodlynde offers expert and caring teachers in small classroom settings that support academic success. Woodlynde School also offers a post-graduate (PG) program in partnership with Rosemont College as well as a regional Summer Camp for students who learn differently.