Now 72, Fiedler just retired after 49 years of teaching chemistry and coaching field hockey, the last 40 years at WRA, a boarding school in Hudson.
PD fileIn his last season with Western Reserve Academy, Marie Fiedler was The Plain Dealer's Coach of the Year in field hockey. AKRON, Ohio -- It was 41 degrees with the wind whipping, sleet flying. Some members of the Western Reserve Academy field hockey team thought, "She'll never make us practice outside."
Those were the younger players, those who really didn't know coach Marie Fiedler.
"This was one of the most miserable days," recalled Katelyn Drake, Fiedler's assistant coach. "I know that most teams were practicing inside. Probably every team was practicing inside."
But after playing for Fiedler from 2002-06 before serving as an assistant coach, Drake knew something else.
"We were going outside," she said. Which they did. So much for prep school kids having it soft.
"That's Marie," said her brother, John Fiedler. "She is tough, she is disciplined and she is smart."
Now 72, Fiedler just retired after 49 years of teaching chemistry and coaching field hockey, the last 40 years at WRA, a boarding school in Hudson. And that bone-shaking, teeth-rattling practice? That's not a story from the musty past.
"It happened this season," said Drake. "That's why I was so surprised that she's quitting. I know she's 72, but she's still a great teacher and coach."
Fiedler's field hockey team had a 15-1-1 record this season, WRA outscoring the opposition, 72-16. She was named The Plain Dealer's coach of the year. Fiedler has never won a state title because WRA is not a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
"There were years we beat the best teams in the state, so they knew we had the best team," she said this spring when announcing her retirement. Her career record at WRA is 451-105-63.
"I had been talking to my brothers about when to retire," said Fiedler. "John said I should think about leaving when I was on top. I didn't want to get to the point where I was tired of doing this. I also want to be able to do things in my retirement."
On the field, always a competitor
When Fiedler grew up in Akron, she had a goal. She wanted to be like her hero, Tribe catcher Jim Hegan. She had five brothers, and played baseball with them in summer. No one dared tell her that she "throws like a girl."
Because she didn't.
These days, she'd be playing on the boys youth teams with her brothers. But in the 1950s, when she played with the boys, it was in pickup games. Girls weren't welcome on youth boys teams. Her brothers insist she sometimes caught without wearing a mask.
She also learned basketball from her brothers, preparing her for girls games at Akron's old St. Mary's High. Other girls complained she was too rough. Fielder threw elbows and claims to have fouled out of most of her high school games.
She was an excellent student in the sciences and business. Her goal was to be like her brothers, some who had major corporate jobs.
Fiedler interviewed at Goodyear. This was when women were not viewed as management candidates. She was offered a job in the library. Her father, Leon, was an executive at BF Goodrich in Akron. In his part of the office building, she said, they didn't even have a women's restroom. He told her to "go into education," because women could make their mark as teachers. It hurt. Why couldn't she play in the same corporate games as the men?
Fiedler often went pheasant hunting with her father, and could shoot as well as most men. She could compete in most sports with boys. Her grades were outstanding.
While stubborn and gritty, Fiedler also is realistic. She took the advice of her father, earning a master's degree from Kent State in chemistry and education. She taught high school in Kent, and later in Los Angeles. At those schools, she coached girls basketball, swimming and field hockey.
"Marie is the kind of person that if she watches a sport for 10 minutes, she can figure out how to coach it," said John Fiedler.
Not only did Drake play field hockey for Fiedler at WRA, she also was on the lacrosse team.
"She wasn't the coach," said Drake. "But one day, she came up to me on the sidelines during a game and gave me a tip. And she was right. She is confident enough to coach anything."
Losing is not an option
Western Reserve Academy file"So many former players and students came up to her and thanked her," Marie Fiedler's brother, John, says of her sister (here coaching field hockey in the 1980s). "Many said what I always thought -- they didn't fully appreciate her until after they graduated."
The Marie Fiedler file
- Position: Just retired after 40th year teaching chemistry and coaching field hockey at Western Reserve Academy, a boarding school in Hudson. Had stints as swimming and girls basketball coach.
- Age: 72.
- Birthplace: Akron.
- Record at WRA: 451-105-63 in 40 years.
- Career record: 470-114-69 in 49 years.
Forty years ago, she was hired at WRA when it went coed. Along with coaching field hockey, she coached swimming from 1973-77 and had a 37-7-1 record. She was varsity girls basketball coach from 1977-85, her career record being "about 20 games over .500," according to Fiedler.
When she originally began coaching field hockey, one of her first questions was, "Who plays any sport in a skirt?"
One of the favorite stories about Fiedler dates back to the early 1970s, a rules meeting involving several field hockey coaches.
"It was supposed to be a lady-like sport," said Fiedler. You can imagine how she felt as coaches talked about rules designed to restrict rough play, and not using schemes such as zone defenses.
Finally, she almost screamed: "This is just a dumb way to play! We have to be more than just be nice to each other!"
"Know this about Marie, she absolutely hates to lose," said Chris Breuker, a close friend who taught biology at WRA from 1973-2007.
Fiedler says she has been blessed with bright students. Athletically, they were not always the superior team, "but we can out-think the other team," she'd tell her students.
Fiedler is fearless when it comes to public reaction, Drake said.
"This past season, she pulled one of our best players out of game because the girl wasn't playing hard," said the assistant coach. "I wondered what was she doing? This was a big game and we were losing. This girl could really score. But MF [Fiedler's nickname] wanted to get the player's attention. After a while, she put her back in and she scored."
Drake admitted she "never would have done that."
A woman of blunt wisdom
"She doesn't sugar coat anything," said Drake.
Fiedler has told more than one WRA student to "get a summer job at McDonald's and learn what the real world is about."
And she meant every word.
"I went to one of the receptions the school had for her," said John Fiedler. "So many former players and students came up to her and thanked her. Many said what I always thought -- they didn't fully appreciate her until after they graduated. So many of them now consider her their second mother or grandmother. She has made more of an impact on lives than I ever did in the corporate world."
Fiedler is a teacher "who went to about every sporting and school event," Drake said.
For the first 10 years at WRA, she lived in one of the girls' dorms. While she later moved into a home in Hudson, she still did once-a-week dorm duty. She also was known for being in her office late many nights, especially as exams approached.
"She certainly wouldn't give you the answers," said Drake. "But she helped you study."
This email came from Christopher Glenn: "My mother attended Reserve, and was among the first female graduates of the school in 50 years after they abandoned the all-boys model (1922-1972). 'MF' had taught and coached my mother, and when she heard I was on the way, made a point to become a mentor to me. ... [Going to a boarding school at 14], there were some serious nerves. ... First seeing her at orientation, and how she greeted us warmly. She and my mom started talking about events that happened decades earlier, as if they were only a few months in the past.
"From that point, I have appreciated that great mentors can command and return a respect that transcends the years and turns pupils and teachers into old friends. I have held her in esteem ever since."
Retiring, but forever active
Western Reserve Academy file"I'll stay busy," Fiedler says of retirement and leaving the chemistry classroom she occupied for four decades. "Only I will be able to say 'no' to some things, do more of what I'd like." Fiedler's friends wonder if she can ever slow down.
"She'll never just retire and not doing anything," said Breuker. "She couldn't handle it. She already told me that she is willing to help the new coach, if that's needed."
Fiedler spent 20 years working part time for the Hudson Emergency Medical Service, often working holidays so others could be with their families. She retired from the EMS at the age of 66.
"Marie has had the added challenge of being a single woman all these years," said Breuker. "I worked on the EMS squad with her. I taught with her. My husband and I became good friends with her. That was one of the reasons I taught for 34 [years at WRA] and she stayed 40 -- you make deep friendships with the people at the school."
Fiedler had major back surgery in 2010. She has bounced back, and still can kayak and serve as a volunteer at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
"I'm one of those people on a bike wearing a yellow helmet," she said. "I love to travel. I want to go to Alaska and Australia. I have friends all over the country."
She has visited Peru, Spain, Africa and Hawaii. She has an 18-year-old mixed-breed dog named B.J., who has appeared in several team photos. She just took in a new dog a friend found lost at the Akron Rubber Bowl.
"I'll stay busy," she said. "Only I will be able to say 'no' to some things, do more of what I'd like."
Fiedler has 16 nieces and nephews, and that doesn't count all the former students over the years who'd love to see her.
During a church service on Mother's Day, the pastor asked all the mothers to stand. Fiedler remained seated. A few of her friends kept saying, "Marie, just stand up! You have had more kids than any of us."
At last, she stood with the rest of the mothers, a tribute that meant as much to her as anything she has received since announcing her retirement.