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MSU to Host Inagurual Coaches School
May 27, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Michigan State University Department of Kinesiology and the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports are inviting coaches and sport leaders to their inaugural MSU Summer Coaches’ School, to be conducted June 18-20.
Coaches and sport leaders will gain knowledge, build networks, and learn experientially through hands-on lessons outside the classroom. Subjects include:
- Program-Building
- Culture Change
- Team Chemistry
- Nutrition
- Concussions
- Training
- Parental Relations
- Performing Under Pressure
Sessions begin at 9 a.m. June 18, 8:30 on June 19 and run 8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on June 20. Packages are available for single days, conferences-only or all-inclusive with meals and lodging for those traveling from abroad.
For details or to register, click summercoach.msu.edu or contact Dr. Andy Driska (event coordinator) at [email protected] or (517) 432-8399.
The MSU Department of Kinesiology and the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports share a long history of scientifically studying the benefits and detriments of sport participation for young people, along with outreach to help coaches and sport leaders use scientific information in their day-to-day practice. The Institute is a major contributor to MHSAA leadership and student services efforts including Captains Clinics and Sportsmanship Summits.
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K-Christian's Fletcher Brought Calm, Kindness
October 13, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The calm in a storm. The rock, no matter how bad things would get.
That’s how longtime athletic administrator Karen Leinaar described Ken Fletcher, who served as director of Kalamazoo Christian’s athletic department for three decades and was among those from the Kalamazoo Valley Association who mentored Leinaar when she served at Delton Kellogg during the 1980s and 90s.
Fletcher died Sept. 25 at age 77.
He had spent 40 years total in education, also as a teacher and coach, before retiring in 2006.
“Anytime we had an issue in the league, he was the calming voice, he was the voice or reason,” said Leinaar, now athletic director at Bear Lake and executive director of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. “Being a mathematician, he was a very logical thinker – but he had the compassion of a priest.
“You never saw Ken disheveled. You never saw Ken frustrated. He always had a smile and kind word for everybody – it didn’t matter the color of their uniform or if it was an official or spectator.”
Fletcher had graduated from Kalamazoo Christian in 1961 and was part of the boys basketball team that won the Class C championship in 1959. He went on to Calvin College (now Calvin University), where he majored in mathematics and earned a degree in education, and also continued his basketball and baseball careers. He later received master’s degrees in in athletic administration from University of Michigan and mathematics from Western Michigan University.
Kalamazoo Christian’s boys basketball team also won Class C championships in 1983 and 2001 during Fletcher’s AD tenure. But Leinaar noted that Fletcher was a great advocate as well for the school’s girls programs, which often were more frequently successful – the softball team, for example, won six MHSAA Finals titles over seven seasons from 1996-2002. “He just loved kids,” she added.
Fletcher was named his region’s Athletic Director of the Year by the MIAAA in 1989.
He is survived in part by his wife of 56 years, Judy, three children and 14 grand- and great-grandchildren. Click to view Fletcher’s full obituary.
PHOTOS collected by the Fletcher family.