The Carolina Panthers High School Coach of the Week program recognizes high school coaches who, through their hard work and dedication to young people, have made a difference in the lives of their players, school and community. This program also provides high schools with financial assistance to help maintain and upgrade their football programs.
This week, the Carolina Panthers selected
West Brunswick High School football coach Jimmy Fletcher as this season’s ninth Coach of the Week.
Fletcher, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Randall Fletcher of
Minneapolis, played football for the Vikings under head coach Elmer Aldridge and is an Avery graduate. Fletcher went on to college at
Lenoir-Rhyne College, where he played football and graduated with a master’s degree.
Fletcher began his coaching career as an assistant football coach at
Richmond County High School before moving to the collegiate ranks as an assistant coach at
East Tennessee State University in
Johnson City, Tenn. In 2003, Fletcher moved to Shallotte to take over as head coach of the
West Brunswick High School football program.
In his eight years with the Trojans, Fletcher has led the team to seven playoff appearances and was named Waccamaw Conference Coach of the Year in 2009.
Fletcher has propelled more than 25 of his student-athletes to play at the collegiate level and one to play at the professional level.
As an active member of the
New Beginning Community Church and the South Brunswick Rotary Club, Fletcher leads his student-athletes to participate in several community initiatives to help them better appreciate both their community and the opportunity that football has afforded them. The Trojan football team has delivered Thanksgiving dinners to underprivileged families in the community every holiday season as well as assisting local church work crews as they fix up, repair and rebuild homes of the less fortunate.
Fletcher also chooses players to speak to local elementary school pupils about character and perseverance.
“[All of] this is especially important,” Fletcher said, “because many of our players do not have much but are still willing to help those that are unable to help themselves. Our football team at
West Brunswick is an integral part of our community. It is sometimes a connecting factor for people of all ages.
“I believe that the lessons learned in football are simply life lessons: when things are tough, work harder; when someone knocks you down, get back up; always play with integrity; give the other guy a hand up.
“Out of all these lessons though, I hope that the thing they always remember is to be a man of integrity and never quit,” he said.
West Brunswick’s athletics director John Floyd said, “a great testament to his influence is the great number of players that have gone on to become coaches themselves.”
“I have to say that the most joy I receive from coaching does not come on the field. It comes when a player tells me that they want to be a football coach or when they call me 15 years later to tell me what a difference I made in their lives,” Fletcher said. “That is the reason I coach football.”
In recognition of Fletcher, Carolina Panthers charities will donate $1,000 to
West Brunswick High School’s athletic department. In addition, Fletcher and the rest of this year’s selected coaches will be honored with an on-field presentation during the Panthers last regular season home game versus the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday, Dec. 19. At that time, the 2010 Coach of the Year will be announced and the winning coach will receive an additional $2,000 grant for his school’s athletic department.
Fletcher will serve as an assistant at the Shrine Bowl this Saturday, Dec. 18, at
Wofford College in
Spartanburg, S.C.. He is married to the former Lyn Keeter and they have two children, daughter Megan and son Jay.
