This article is dedicated to the late Joanne Klose. Although I never met Joanne, in interviewing her son, Friends Select Athletic Director, Bill Klose, her impact on his life was almost indescribably important. Joanne was the person most responsible for instillIng in Bill his value system, his drive, and his passion for sports, all traits which have enabled him, in turn, to impact countless FSS students, including, most certainly, me. 

Bill Klose attended Philadelphia’s Central High School, where he described himself as “a pretty quiet kid.” At schools as large as Central, it sometimes can be difficult to stand out and many of the students toil in anonymity for four years. Bill explains that “in [his] class, there would be kids [he] wouldn’t even know, which is something Friends Select students probably could not fathom.” Hoping not to get lost in the masses, Bill worked hard to stand out not only in the classroom, where he was a very strong student, but also in athletics. 

Heeding his mom’s words and maintaining her positive attitude, Bill knew that, eventually, his relentless work ethic would reap meaningful results. Finally, in Bill’s junior year at Central, he got his first moment truly to stand out on this big stage. Bill nonchalantly describes the moment as a “stupid out of a sitcom kind of moment where, you know, I hit a walk-off home run.” While he acknowledges how great it felt to do something important with so many people watching, Bill’s ever-present modesty prevented him from really admitting how important a moment it was. But, knowing Bill, his self-deprecating and understated recounting of the event is not at all surprising.  

After a successful academic and athletic career at Central, Bill realized that, while playing a sport at the college level might not make the most sense for his future, he wanted to stay in sports in some capacity. Bill matriculated at Temple University, where he majored in kinesiology and worked with the football, basketball, lacrosse, and field hockey teams as a student-athletic trainer. Immediately after graduation from Temple, he continued his work as an athletic trainer at the University of Pennsylvania with their women’s gymnastics team. He then went on to earn his master’s degree in injury prevention and performance enhancement at the California University of Pennsylvania. 

Following his master’s program, Bill excitedly entered the working world, where his love of sports continued to serve as his source of motivation. He began his career at Cheltenham High School, where he served as the school’s athletic trainer. He loved his job and had no interest in leaving.  However, sometimes opportunity knocks, and, as Bill’s mother would have insisted, he’d better answer. In a conversation with one of Cheltenham’s physical education teachers, who also worked as an athletic trainer at Abington Friends School, Bill learned that a school called Friends Select School was looking for an athletic trainer. Bill had never heard of Friends Select before, but when he was told it would be a full-time athletic training position with summers off, the position started to sound more appealing. In the end, it was a family decision for Bill to come to Friends Select. He would still be able to spend time with his family, and he liked the idea that his children would also be able to attend a school well-known for its academics. Bill’s decision was not only the best decision for his family — it was a decision that would massively reshape the landscape of Friends Select athletics.

When Bill arrived at Friends Select, he served as a physical education teacher and the school’s athletic trainer. While the experience in those roles was satisfying, Bill knew he wanted a different role in the community. When Friends Select decided they needed a new co-Athletic Director, Bill was the perfect and obvious choice. He remained in that role briefly and, in 2015, Bill became FSS’s sole Athletic Director. He also, among too many responsibilities to count, oversees the athletic training program. Bill says the transition from PE teacher and athletic trainer to athletic director was pretty “smooth and easy”. He was excited to make changes because he had a lot of ideas about how to improve athletics as a whole at Friends Select. 

As AD, Bill communicates and collaborates with different people in the Friends Select community. Music Department Chair Heather Fortune says: “Bill and I have worked together for 15 years now, and since the beginning, we have always approached any issue with the attitude that we’ll work out the best possible solution,” adding, “I remember a concert many years ago that included a baseball player running into the theater just in time to play a mallet part, still wearing his dirty uniform!” 

Drama Department Chair Donna Romero echoes Heather: “Bill and I have a great working relationship. I’m very lucky because that is not always the case at other schools (for the drama and athletic departments to work together!). We recognize that our roles are very similar, and we respect the amount of work/flexibility needed in these jobs.” She adds, “We love that students at FSS try lots of different things, so we’re happy to “share” our students and help them be their best whether on stage or on the field/court/river/etc.”

Bill says that playing sports his whole life has prepared him for his jobs as an athletic trainer and athletic director. He explains that sports teach communication, time management, and teamwork, which are necessary skills for any job. He says that there were some teams on which he was the best player and others on which he was the worst. He says that experience “teaches you to connect with the top student-athletes and the ones that are not top student-athletes at that moment.”

Playing sports his whole life helped Bill as a coach because he understands that playing sports was just one part of his players’ day. He says that being a coach comes with an insane amount of pressure. “No matter how angry or mad I am, if I say something which is just a tiny part of my day to somebody who is 17 years old, they could remember that for 20 years and I think that is an enormous amount of pressure on a coach that they need to take seriously,” he says. 

In his first year as AD, Bill made significant changes based on what he had observed as a PE teacher and coach, including revamping the salary system and hiring new coaches. Bill also wanted to look at the bigger picture of the Friends Select athletics culture and figure out a way to change it: he wanted not just the student-athletes, but all FSS students to buy into this new program. He understood that this could not all just happen in one year. This was something that would take time. In trying to figure out how to solve this issue, he decided to attack the problem in parts, each year trying to make each team a little bit better.

While many people recognize Friends Select as an excellent academic institution, a secret just dying to come out, and one which Bill is very proud of, is the depth and strength of the school’s athletic programs. Part of Bill’s goal is to develop a better boys’ basketball team, an athletic program that typically garners a great deal of external attention. Through his tireless work and unparalleled persuasive skills, Bill recruited Percell Coles, a former professional basketball player, to head the boys’ program. During Percell’s tenure, the team has improved both on the court and in its ability to attract high-caliber student-athletes to FSS. 

Bill also realized that Friends Select students had opinions on the athletic department and wanted to be heard. He took huge amounts of time and listened to why the students would say things like “we’re terrible,” or “sports at Friends Select are a joke.” There were complaints about coaching, players not putting in work at practice, and coaches ending practices early and not giving players the time they need to improve. As he did with Percell, Bill hired new, high-powered, and dedicated coaches who had meaningful knowledge about, and coaching experience in, their respective sports. He recruited coaches who genuinely cared about making their players not just better athletes, but better people. Bill also recognized that while how you look matters far less than how you play, taking pride in uniforms is something that drives student-athletes. He implemented a new uniform rotation program, with each team getting new uniforms every four years. This is something most schools do not do. Bill explains, “The final part of the plan was letting the students know it is okay to want to win and that it is not unquakerly to be competitive and want to beat the person in front of you.”

Another part of the plan was for Bill to continue doing one of the things he did best– coach. Bill started coaching softball at Friends Select 11 years ago and has turned the program into a powerhouse. Opponents know that Bill’s softball team will play smart, fundamental softball and will fight to the last out. To that end, Bill’s softball teams have qualified for the playoffs every year he has been the head coach and has been to four of the last six championships, winning three of those four — pretty impressive for an upper school of approximately 100 girls. While winning is great, Bill says that his favorite part about coaching softball is being around student-athletes and creating a safe and fun environment for everyone to grow as players as teammates, and as people. He also loves the downtime with the girls and being able to joke around with his players while also working hard and getting better. He says “softball is about learning to bounce back after you fail.” 

Margot Schneider ‘22, who has been coached by Bill in both basketball and softball, says, “Bill has taught me how to break down and be upset about things in a healthy way. He has also taught me how to figure out how to make practical changes going forward after I get upset.”

Something particularly meaningful to Bill is when he talks with his former players years later and they tell him things like “softball made high school more fun” or when they talk about how they were able to apply lessons they learned in softball to the real world. Bill says, ‘Sports is about life lessons without life consequences.’”

While Bill always looks forward to the future of the athletics programs and department, as his mother always taught him, he never forgets those whom he has impacted and who have impacted him in the past. One such person is Carl Trainer, current Friends Select Associate Athletics Director. 

Bill coached Carl in baseball when Carl was ten years old and, consistent with Bill’s omnipresent mentoring approach, he stayed in Carl’s life, serving as an advisor and confidant. Carl, who now is Bill’s assistant coach for the girls’ softball team, highlights Bill’s incredible dedication to the people he coaches. “I’ve known Bill for so long so we’re so comfortable around each other and it’s like he is an older brother to me,” says Carl. Having known Bill for so long, Carl says that over the years, Bill has become “more in tune with his players and listens intently on how they feel and what they need.” He also says that he has learned a lot about coaching from Bill having both played for and coached with him. An important lesson Carl has learned from Bill is that you “have to go with the flow and meet your players where they’re at.”

In addition to softball, Bill has been coaching both varsity and middle school girls’ basketball for six years. Bill says his favorite part about coaching basketball is the strategy involved and how big an impact it can have on the game. Bill’s favorite memory coaching basketball is the Tip Off Tournament held every year at the beginning of the basketball season. He describes the big community event in the Friends Select gym packed with hundreds of people as a good way to “get players to buy in and a good event for the community and school.”

Rachel Luce ‘21, who plays both softball and basketball for Bill, says that Bill is a very “supportive and kind-hearted coach.” She adds that “he never puts players in situations that they will fail in. He knows each player’s strengths and weaknesses and builds off of that.” Schneider points out, “he will go out of his way to connect with each individual on the team and understand what works for them. He understands different people need different things to get better and not one approach will work for every single player.”  Looking to the future, Bill is going to enjoy a new experience in coaching girls’ basketball and having the opportunity to coach his youngest child, Daphne Klose, on varsity for the next four years. 

Bill’s relationship with the FSS community goes far beyond being a coach to student-athletes. Bill is a mentor and an advisor to many of the students at Friends Select. In fact, his office is a common spot (pre-Covid, of course) for many to congregate. Danielle Norris, Friends Select PE teacher and girls’ field hockey coach, explains what it’s like to share space with Bill: “It’s like sharing an office with your friend. The office always is a fun laid back environment where you can be yourself, she says. Danielle loves to make fun of Bill for all his “weird quirks,” such as having to pick the strawberry seeds out of a strawberry before he can put it in a smoothie. Danielle says that she really appreciates how Bill “puts so much time and effort into not only making athletics better but making the school better and making students better, whether they’re athletes or not.” 

When discussing Bill’s office, a common hangout spot for many members of the FSS community, Mark Aaronson ‘21 says he enjoys spending time there because “Bill is a good teacher, person, friend, and mentor.” Mark continues, “Bill has taught me how to have relationships with adults and be transparent with adults and not be scared of them. This has helped me as an athlete when meeting new coaches and being coachable .”

Marley Ewell ‘23 adds that Bill has helped build his confidence and has taught him that you are “capable of anything wherever you go.” He appreciates how Bill is one of the adults in the school he feels comfortable voicing opinions and struggles to, knowing he will not be judged.

Nick Hurwitz ‘21 likes how Bill is always open to new ideas within the Friends Select sports community. His favorite memory with Bill was when he hit almost a full-court shot by “just throwing the ball.” Nick says that he “appreciates how hard Bill worked to make sure we have sports during covid.”

The COVID environment of which Nick speaks has evidenced Bill’s dedication and confidence in handling his sundry responsibilities. The Athletic Director role has been indescribably affected by COVID. Much like the passion Bill shows in everything else, he has tirelessly researched how to safely have sports and what safety protocols need to be implemented. He says that having a science degree and medical background is helpful because he knows where to look for good trustworthy information. 

Because there were not a lot of sports going on at the beginning of the pandemic, Bill had more time open up in his schedule. He decided to fill that time with joining and running more committees on anti-racism. He says he did this because he did not want issues that were important to him to be “put on the back burner.” He adds that he wanted to look at the bigger picture and focus on more than just athletics.

I was in fourth grade when “Teacher Bill” approached me. Apparently, as he always did, Teacher Bill was looking to the future for softball and realized he didn’t have any pitchers in the pipeline. I was 10 years old and had just discovered softball, a sport I would grow to love as much as anything in my life. He told me that he was going to need a pitcher and he asked me whether I was interested. I jumped at the chance and, for the next several years, I spent every possible free moment in Bill’s office learning the game and in the Mat Room, learning to pitch. Bill became more than a coach, he became the person I consistently trusted as much as anyone in the building. He became my sounding board and the person I knew I could go to for complete honesty and transparency. In my parents’ words, he became one of those special people whose impact may feel significant now but will take on even more importance as I get older. 

Joanne, I want to thank you. Your son has changed my life. He has made me a more skilled athlete. He has made me a more effective leader. And, most importantly, he has taught me to be a better person.