Herbert Lee Fitzer

Sports were a big part of my life when I was at TVHS--and I still am involved in athletics as a coach of three sports at ZHS. I coach cross country, swimming and track as well as teach history for the Blue Devils. The classes that I teach are sometimes a challenge (I made the mistake of showing I could deal with tough kids) so having a group of athletes that CHOOSE to be with me after school makes a hard job much more palatable for me. I have been Ohio Coach of the year in both boys and girls cross country and in girls track. I have been president of the Eastern District Track and Cross Country Coaches Association and a member of various committees in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference. Photography has become a profession for me as well. I shoot mostly track and field and have been a credentialed photographer of the USA Track and Field Championships (including the last five Olympic Track and Field Trials) since 1992. My track photos have been in several magazines and I have had seven cover photos of various sports magazines over the years. I have been a sponsor of the Midwest Meet of Champions for the last four years--as well as its official photographer. I am also a member of Gallery Z, an artists co-op in Zanesville. It is located across from what was old Clossman's Hardware on Main Street. I have large poster sized prints of wildlife and flowers with inspirational messages. I am either six or eleven years from retirement--depending on what the Obama adminstration does to my IRAs and the state teachers retirement fund. I have recently gotten into shooting pistols and am a lifetime member of the NRA--I am in the process of getting my concealed carry permit for Ohio. I keep myself incredibly busy with coaching, photography and shooting and really don't have much time to do anything else. There are not very many of my classmates that I see very often, Jerry Border and Cindy Rector are probably the ones that I run into most often. It is hard to believe that I am this old--but I was watching something the other day that talked about Stevie Nix being almost sixty, so I must be that old. The kids that I am around 24/7 keep me young and motivated, so I will keep on moving until I can no longer.

My story from TV is about English teachers and coaches. If it were not for great teachers like Lois Denman, Sally Goins and Katie Gault I would not have gotten a college degree. If it were not for people like Bob James, John Dunlop, and Nick Madden there would be an empty place in my life that I often wonder about. I coach in meets against TV and see kids all the time who look very familar--probably because I grew up with their parents, aunts or uncles. Life is good, God is good.

My senior year was a blast--I got involved with Harold Garber in the plays and it brought me out of my shell. Running was my life and most people did not understand it--wouldn't have changed a thing. My junior prom date was about things that never happend, my senior prom date was a mistake all the way. Live and learn, screw up and regret.