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A love for the
game of Ice Hockey and the
passion for teaching/coaching
kids are the cornerstones of
Bill Fleet’s career. The love
of the game of hockey started as
a kid in the outdoor hockey box
of the City of Rome Recreation
Leagues. From there, he played
his high school hockey as a
goaltender and was the captain
for the
1961 Rome Free Academy
team. Fleet also played on
local Senior Teams in Rome and
Clinton after high school.
After his
playing career, Bill embarked on
a successful 37 year coaching
career. He coached 26 years as
a Head Varsity Hockey coach,
with 18 of those being at Rome
Catholic High where his teams
won 3 league titles, 4 Section
III crowns, and back-to-back
New York State Division II
Championships (both wins coming
in overtime and in dramatic
fashion). Bill continued to
coach varsity hockey and other
local high schools within the
Central New York area. He went
on to coach Proctor High School
for 5 years, and he finished out
his last 3 years of his high
school varsity hockey coaching
career at Whitesboro High
School.
In 1997, Fleet
went on to serve as a Varsity
Assistant Coach at Hamilton
College for 11 seasons under the
legendary, Phil Grady. Bill was
also an assistant coach for 2
seasons for the Central Region
team in the Empire State Games
and served as a member of the
Empire State Games Selection
Committee. Fleet served as a
clinician for 2 seasons in the
Buffalo Sabres Hockey camp and
the Hamilton College Hockey
School.
In addition to
hockey, his coaching experience
included 15 seasons as the
Junior High Baseball Coach at
Rome Catholic High and 2 seasons
as the Varsity Coach. Under his
direction, the Redwing varsity
attained a league title, a
Section III crown, and were the
New York State Class C
runners-up.
Fleet has a
long-time involvement with
Section III and NYSPHSAA
Hockey. He served as the Vice
Chairman and Chairman of the
Section III Hockey Committee;
Secretary, New York State Ice
Hockey Committee; and Site
Chairman, New York State Ice
Hockey Championship. He played
a major role in bringing the New
York State Hockey Championship
to the Utica Memorial Auditorium
in 1987 where it enjoys
continued success today.
Bill is a
graduate of SUNY Cortland and
went on to serve as the City of
Rome Commissioner of Parks and
Recreation for 32 years and the
Commissioner of Public Safety
for ten years. After retirement
he returned to work for the City
of Rome as the project
coordinator for the renovation
of the J.F. Kennedy Civic Arena,
the city's ice skating arena.
Under his direction the
community bonded for $3 million
dollars and a fund-raising
campaign that raised $750,000.
For his love of the game of
hockey and his dedication to the
youth and citizens of the City
of Rome, the skating surface at
the Arena is named in his honor
and is known as “The Bill Fleet
Rink at The J.F. Kennedy Civic
Arena”.
Other honors
include the induction into the
Rome Sports Hall of Fame in
2003. He was given the Central
N.Y. Parks & Recreation Guokas
Award for Professional
Excellence in the Recreation
Field in 2007 and he was
awarded Honorary Life
Memberships in the Rome Youth
Hockey Association and Section
III.
He and his wife
Joan, a retired Student Loan
Administrator reside in Rome and
are the proud and loving parents
of 5 daughters and 16
grandchildren.
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Bill
was inducted into
the New York State
High School Hockey-
Hall of Fame, March
2003, for his
dedication to the
sport as a truly
great coach who has
contributed
noteworthy service
to New York State
high school hockey. |
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