Nov. 21, 2008
By David Hutchinson
It is not always easy to accept the fate that is handed to you. Crumbling in to a heap of self-pity is much easier than rising to the challenge and facing it head on. Leading while things are good is easy, while leading when life is hard is where great leaders are born. These intangibles are hard to come by and cherished just as much. Assistant track Coach, Fritz Spence, is evidence that these qualities do exist and it is not just reserved for movies. The 36-year-old multi-event coach is entering his fourth season coaching at Penn State and after a trying 2008 winter that would take the spirits of many in his position Spence pushes forward.
February 26th right before the team headed to the Indoor Big Ten Championships, Spence was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. Though a Cancer diagnosis is always a surprise for Spence it was that much more shocking.
"It is very rare for my age group it usually occurs younger kids or older adults of around 56 years old not at my age, so it was very surprising," said Spence.
Spence broke the news to his wife Teri as well as his four children and then had the task of breaking the news to the student-athletes that he has spent almost as much time with as his family.
"Coach (Beth Alford) Sullivan was generous enough to email a lot of people and set up a meeting to let everyone know my situation, because it would have been hard for me to do," said Spence.
For the athletes it was not the normal team meeting they were expecting.
"We were all really shocked, because we kind of viewed him as Superman. He lifted with us, worked out with us and did everything during practice, so you never really see anything like that coming," said multi-event athlete Gayle Hunter.
The idea of going to Big Tens with their coach in the hospital weighed heavy on the minds of the athletes, but Spence would not leave them alone on their biggest stage.
"He still found a way to communicate with us through text messages when we were competing. He was texting us what to do and helping us while he was so sick," said Hunter.
Both men's and women's managed to finish in the top five in the Big Ten in Indoor and Outdoor championships without their coach, but he was not far from their minds during competition, as many of the student-athletes wore the orange and yellow Leukemia ribbons in his honor.
Spence was hospitalized on and off for the next six month as he went to surgery to remove his left thyroid gland as well as going through the standard chemotherapy. Through the entire ordeal Spence was looking forward to the time when he could return to what he knew and loved.
"Track and field grounds me in that every time I could when I was hospitalized I would come back to the track. I enjoy being around the athletes and the environment of track, it has done more for me to push on and continue to be strong."
Spence has since returned to the arena that has given so much pleasure in his 15+ years of coaching. The return has given him the satisfaction he missed while being hospitalized, but the sport that was once life will never be the same.
"I look at things a little different than I used to. I am with my family a lot more because before this track was everything. Track is busy recruiting, looking a film and coaching and stuff like that so now try to spend more time with my family and people who are really close to me."
Spence is now working himself back into the routine he once lived easily, though he has noticed obvious setbacks, he does not complain knowing the improvements he has made over the past nine months.
"As far as my energy, I don't have to energy I used to, eventually I will get it back but not right now. For the most part I try to be as safe as I can; my immune system is very weak so I try to be precautious which is why I wear a mask and such.
Spence is forced to wear a preventative mask to ward off possible airborne germs that would cause a coming cold in an average person, but would severely jeopardize his health, and yet Spence looks forward everyday to interacting with germ covered athletes.
The Indoor track season gets underway January 10 and Spence will be around to watch his athletes compete once again and for him it is a season that has potential to repeat last year's success, but accomplishments on the track are not his only goals.
"I know last year the athletic department did a blood drive for me last year. I would want to continue that and I would want to continue to talk to people who are diagnosed with leukemia and work with them," said Spence.
Spence's status allows him to give back to a community that helped him get through his early stages and as he returns to a life as normal as it has been in nearly a year, he serves remarkable example of determination.
Gayle Hunter has grown close to Spence through her four years at Penn State and has been touched by her coach's courage.
"It shows a person can have such a great character and it makes me want to be like him. I admire him and I want him to be a part of my life after I graduate as not only my coach but also my friend. He serves as motivation always, and shows you can get through anything, it is a huge inspiration."