Coach James inspired all to be their best selves

Since his passing on October 15, it’s been very difficult for me to put into words the impact of Methuen High School wrestling and cross-country coaching legend Bill James.

I got to know Bill as one of the greatest coaching motivators in the history of scholastic sports. Whether it was a wrestler or a runner, James had a unique ability to convey his own fearlessness and fortitude, but it was not just to his athletes. Bill was always there to encourage and enlighten anyone of any age in any situation looking to make any kind of improvement.

I remember a few years ago when I decided to make some healthy changes in my own life. I spoke to Bill about it, and he provided me with some straight talk on committing to a plan to accomplish my goals.

At the time, I was a 46-year-old man who had not dieted or exercised in years, not a teenage athlete in prime physical condition. That didn’t matter. I was a person who wanted to get from one place to another, and that was his specialty.

Bill was all about the word “champion.” He was one and coached many, but he didn’t just mold great players, he molded great people. Current MHS Track Coach Kevin Alliette said of James, “When I was lost as a sophomore in high school, Coach James was the only one that believed in me. He wouldn’t let me quit cross-country and I owe everything I have done since then to him.” 

Alliette is not alone in that sentiment. For the October 2023 edition of Sports Blitz, I reached out to every coach at Methuen High School to send words of encouragement to James as he battled his health issues. I was hoping for maybe six or seven responses to use in the story. I got e-mails, texts or calls from EVERY coach at the school, a testament to James’ incredible influence.

I had countless conversations with Bill and wrote many MethuenLife articles about him and his teams, but my best and lasting memory of him has nothing to do with sports.

I had the pleasure of spending two weeks every summer with Bill and his extended family at Salisbury Beach for 16 years. On one of those perfect beach days, Bill and his brother-in-law Jerry Melia strolled into my apartment as I was at the bar mixing a beverage. Of course, I poured two more for the guys.

We went out on the beach, sat in the sun, and enjoyed laughs and conversation, not necessarily about running, wrestling or any world-changing topics, just three friends hanging on the beach. Bill was an intense guy, but I could see from his contented smile how much he enjoyed just taking a breath and relaxing for those few moments.

Bill James was a good friend, a great coach, a better man, and the best husband and father to wife Laurie and children Erica and Brock. The young people he impacted are too numerous to count.

When someone this special passes, the world around that person is always diminished. Bill James had many worlds – from family to friends to colleagues to athletes. Those of us in those varied worlds are quite different, but we share one simple emotion. We will never forget Bill James, and we will miss him always. 

John Molori is an author, columnist, and a 2011 inductee into the Methuen Athletic Hall of Fame. Facebook: John Molori, Twitter @MoloriMedia. E-mail molorimedia@gmail.com.

Longtime Methuen High wrestling and cross-country coach Bill James passed away Oct. 15, about a year after suffering a life-altering fall. He was 57 years old. ML file photo