Bill Taylor, legendary Drake High coach, dies aged 87

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  • Retired Drake track coach Bill Taylor speaks at the opening of the William Taylor Track and Field Festival in Drake in San Anselmo, California on Saturday, March 3, 2018. The All Comers Meet was held this year in honor of longtime Marin. renamed Coach. (Alan Dep / Marin Independent Journal)

  • Bill Taylor, the advisor to the Drake High Arete West students, photographed at Drake High on Wednesday June 10, 2009. (IJ Photo / Jeff Vendsel)

  • Longtime Drake High School coach Bill Taylor died on October 4, 2021 at the age of 87. Shown in front of his distinctive 1970 VW Beetle in 2008, Taylor spent 40 years coaching the Drake High circuit. (Especially for the IJ / Douglas Zimmerman)

When you talk about Bill Taylor, a few words come to mind: tradition, passion … excellence.

Mr. Taylor embodied the pursuit of excellence and shared that passion for nearly 40 years with the runners he trained at Drake High – now Archie Williams High. Mr. Taylor, who is believed to be one of the architects of the Marin County’s running community, died Monday at the age of 87 after battling an illness last year.

From 1978 to 2017, Mr. Taylor trained athletics and cross country in Drake, where he celebrated the joy of running every cross country season with the release of racing pigeons. That was just one of the traditions he created when he made the pirates a dominant force.

His influence extended well beyond the San Anselmo High School route to the entire running community in Marin and North Bay. His influence on generations of young runners went much further.

“I remember how successful he was in coaching his Drake teams in the 1980s,” said Archie Williams track and cross-country coach Robyn Berry, who was running for Terra Linda at the time. “It’s the sign of a great coach: his athletes were in close contact with him long after they graduated. He had a connection to them. “

The Marin High School running community has lost three of their titans in the past 15 months. Former long-time Tam coach Bruce Grant died in August 2020 at the age of 91. Former long-time Redwood coach Doug Basham died on November 1, 2020. Together, they had more than a century of experience coaching local runners.

“(Taylor) practically started athletics in Marin. He was one of the first trainers, ”said long-time Redwood trainer Laura Schmitt. “I remember he was a coach who was interested in sharing everything he knew about the world with all athletes. He had weapons that reached all other schools. I remember knowing that he was using athletics and cross country as a means of teaching life skills. “

Mr Taylor’s trips to Greece and other countries were legendary, with groups of his runners learning the history and traditions of cultures and new experiences during the Arete trips.

“He was so multidimensional through exercise and travel,” said Berry. “He was a fantastic athlete himself and he translated that as a trainer. He was persuasive and thoughtful. During these trips he taught a class on Greek history every year. It was a life-defining experience for the people who took part. “

The Archie Williams facility is named Arete Track in honor of Mr. Taylor who declined the offer to have her name displayed. Arete refers to the Greek word for excellence and virtue, something that Mr. Taylor always tried to instill in his runners.

“When he went to the big meetings, he said to his runners, ‘Battle well,’ which has many meanings, all of which are appropriate for Bill,” said Berry. “Whether it’s competing with honor or doing your best to win. He believed that it is not worth doing if one does not strive for excellence. “

Before becoming a Drake coach, Mr. Taylor was an accomplished athlete himself, having competed in the USC 400 and 800 national championship teams. Mr. Taylor spent some time with the Marines after college and became a Presbyterian while living in San Anselmo.

Mr. Taylor trained several of Marin’s all-time runners while with Drake and was inducted into the Marin Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame in 2003. Mr. Taylor wrote a book about his life in 2008, “Igniting The Flame”.

No plans for a memorial have been announced, although events in honor of Mr. Taylor are expected to be held when the cross-country season comes to an end soon and also during the spring track and field season.

“It is our history of athletics,” said Schmitt. “The people he taught will keep history alive… The children he taught are training now. His legacy lives on 100 percent. “

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