Dear Joanne,
Thank you for providing me the opportunity to write a little
something about Bill. If this is read aloud
in front of an audience, please don’t let any of my former track-mates like
Olivia Shea-Grimaldi or Erika Nettleton-Sheldon read this because they didn’t
even have the decent courtesy to tell me that Mullarney was retiring! And they have no comedic timing. They would end up “maybe” proofing it a half
hour before they stand up to the lectern and totally mess up the
punchlines. Oh yes… I still know them
after 25 years!
I give them a hard time not out of anger, but out of
love. For one thing, Bill is primarily
the reason why we’re still in touch after 25 years. Bill started a rag-tag track team back in the
spring of 1993 comprised of 9 girls and 3 boys (freshmen – seniors) who knew
nothing about track other than a starter kit of watching the 1992 Olympic Games
from a year before. For those of you who
are younger, this is back when school yearbook team photos were black and white
and Bill had luscious thick black hair with some of it actually on his
head.
The reason I’m not upset with Olivia or Erica, Jay Janssen,
Sally Ward, etc. who still live in the area (AHEM!) is that Bill wouldn’t want
to make a big fuss out of retirement and probably waited until the last minute
to let people know. Well, that’s Bill
for you…. Selfish. If I had known a little earlier, I would have
flown out for this from Seattle! Yes,
that’s how much Bill has meant to some of us who were able to spend time with
him (sometimes too much) outside of the classroom. I can look back on my prison sentence, err…
scholastic education at SCCS and honestly say the time spent with the track
team was a definite highlight.
Bill arrived at SCCS around the time I was in seventh
grade. There was all this talk about the
new English teacher who was short, energetic, really funny, and loved to quote
Saturday Night Live skits.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to stay up ‘til 11:30pm and most of the
jokes went over my head. Bill commanded
his classroom by trying to get everyone to participate. Even the class clowns were given a long
leash, because deep down, Bill yearned for a good punch line and maybe some
comedic gold would accidently slip out.
I remember the time in class where Bill stopped his lecture in the
middle of class and looked hard at one of my good friends, Mark Elser. Bill quizzically asked Mark, “Mark, is that a
dead bird in your pocket?” Mark sat
their sheepishly while everyone laughed.
Bill shook his head and exasperatedly told him to throw it outside and
go wash his hands. I know that Mark
probably only did one of those two things.
Anything to spice up English class!
My dad, Scott Mathieson, retired from our rival high school,
Union Springs, about 10-15 years ago and spent his entire career there starting
in 1968 fresh out of college. Bill
followed a very similar career path and has spend most of, if not all of, his
entire career at Southern Cayuga. Unlike
my dad, though, Bill was well liked. Of
course, my dad taught during an age where it was still OK for teachers to stick
kids in trash cans or hold them by their ankles outside of 2nd story
classrooms. When my dad retired the
teachers rented a limousine and they went on a wine tour for his last day! What a great send off. Bill is probably considered one of the most
popular teachers in SCCS history who taught thousands of students and coached
25+ years worth of student athletes through entertainment, personal anecdotes,
and the ability to nurture a child’s ambition to put that extra effort in and
do a good job. I guess my point is… Where
is Bill’s limo and wine tour, fellow teachers?!
<At this point start chanting “Where’s Bill’s Limo!” over and over
again until everyone joins in. Just
kidding. Have we lost anyone yet?>
This year my daughter entered 7th grade and
decided to go out for the track team.
Unlike my first year in track which included 12 student athletes, over
200 7th & 8th graders participated at her
school! A couple of her track meets,
when participating against a similarly large school, were bigger than some of
my college track meets! That’s a lot of
kids. This past season was also the
first time that I have been to a public school track meet since I last
participated back in 1994 (the year I graduated). So many memories came flooding back! Getting Olivia Shea-Grimaldi to slap me hard
across the face to get me to wake up before a race (she didn’t hold back
either); setting up an old tent for the team to hang out in to stay out of the
elements, but finding out it smelled like cat pee; puking after each time I ran
the anchor leg of the 4x400m relay and everyone had to wait for me to get out
of the bushes since it was always the last event of the meet and they were
waiting for me on the bus. I think Bill
tell students that there is some corn growing behind the track at Groton HS
that I “planted” many years ago. Ah… the
legends that were spread. No pun
intended.
Being part of the very first track team at Southern Cayuga
(first as a club and then as a varsity sport) is such a point of pride for
me. We were trend setters that helped
kicked off a 25+ year legacy of track and field at SCCS. Part of it was that our crew was tight,
competitive, fun, and somewhat average.
We didn’t always have the best athletes, but we competed hard for Bill
and other students took notice. I’m sure
more than a few underclass-persons thought, “Well, if they can do it, why can’t
I do it! It looks like they’re having
fun!” Bill has always been the center
piece for that attitude.
I competed in track for four more years at Bucknell
University after high school and still hold the high school long jump record
(as far as I know) at Southern Cayuga from my senior year. I’m trying not to humble-brag, but I’m
totally humble-bragging. OK, this isn’t
the point. I can honestly say that the
two years spent competing in high school track were my happiest years spent
competing in that sport. Largely it was
due to Bill. He is so adept at pushing
the right buttons to get the best out of you by providing you with clear and
manageable goals, confidence, appropriate stroking of your ego, and keeping you
engaged enough to where you want to constantly improve even after the season
was over. There was never a feeling of
relief for me at the end of the season.
It was always a feeling of, “I’m going to do better next year!”
My daughter found her niche competing in the discus this
year. She is little, like her parents,
but is mighty. After taking 1st
place in the 7th grade event after a couple of track meets, we
realized she had some natural talent.
She ended up placing in the top six at what is called “prelims” which
gave her the opportunity to compete at the district championships which she did. I was so proud of her and there were two
people that I wanted to share the news with.
Erika Nettleton (teammate in high school who threw the discus) and Bill. Why Bill?
Because everything related to track and field for me will always be
compared to the memories created while competing for him. If you want to talk about a lasting
impression on someone, how about measuring up to that one?
Bill, I know we keep in touch via Facebook and I love
getting the recaps of the track meets that you send out. I really wish that I could be there in person
to tell you thank you. You have touched
so many kids’ lives in your tenure as a teacher and a coach even though I can
only personally speak for myself. It’s
pretty obvious to me why you have been one of the most popular educators in
SCCS history. Thank you for all you have
done!
Love,
Brian
Mathieson
Class of
1994
Ps. <please start
chanting: “GET BILL A LIMO!!!”>
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