Q&A: Heather Fleck on Husband P.J. "I recruited him a bit. He’s my best recruit!"

Q&A: Heather Fleck on Husband P.J. "I recruited him a bit. He’s my best recruit!"

Q&A: Heather Fleck on Husband P.J. "I recruited him a bit. He’s my best recruit!"
By Nadine Babu

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/752674?referrer_id=

Behind every great college football coach there is an even more elite spouse, and that is certainly the case with new Gophers coach P.J. Fleck with his wife Heather. The “first lady” of Gopher football has the energy and passion to match her enthusiastic husband and Heather Fleck is going to be an important part in helping shape the Gophers’ new culture.

GopherHole’s Nadine Babu caught up with Heather Fleck on National Signing Day to learn more about her background and her excitement to be in the Twin Cities.

GopherHole: Tell me about your first couple of weeks here. Has it been crazy?

Heather Fleck: It’s been a whirlwind. I wouldn’t call it crazy because this is just how we work. If we aren’t doing a million things then we wouldn’t know what to do. It’s been exciting, stressful, fun and we’ve met so many amazing people, but the best way to describe it is a whirlwind.

GopherHole: What conversations went on between you and PJ to decide whether to take this job?

Heather Fleck: Minnesota is one of those jobs we always talked about. You hear about Minnesota Nice and the institution, it’s such an elite institution, an elite campus. It screams PJ Fleck with what he can do with the facilities. There was nothing about it that made us pause. We are used to the cold. Everything about this was a no-brainer to us.

GopherHole: How do you manage with four kids?

Heather Fleck: We have a very amazing nanny. We have a 9 year old boy, a 7 year old boy, a four year old girl and a three year old girl. It’s organized chaos, it’s a lot of fun. During the season we spend a lot of time in the coaches office, the kids are around.

GopherHole: What kind of “first lady” of Gopher football do you want to be?

Heather Fleck: I will do whatever is needed. I want to get involved in the Childrens Hospital here. I am open to anything.

GopherHole: What is your favorite part of Minneapolis so far?

Heather Fleck: The fact that there is so much do to here. There are so many great places to eat. There is the Mall of America, so many sports. There is never a dull moment. I haven’t spent a ton of time exploring yet, we’ve been house hunting and recruiting. We’ll slow down a bit now.

GopherHole: What is the timeline with moving?

Heather Fleck: My first nine days here I went house hunting, we put an offer in on a house. We are in temporary housing now but we will be in a permanent house in the middle of March.

GopherHole: How involved are you in the football side of things?

Heather Fleck: Very, I am very involved. We watch film at home. I rarely miss a practice. I get to know these kids like they are my own. I am very involved there is not a day I am not at the facility at some point, whether it is making cookies for the staff or with the kids at the office. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

GopherHole: Coach has a ton of energy. How does he sleep?

Heather Fleck: We’ve gotten used to going on 4-5 hours of sleep. He does slow down, but he doesn’t have an off-switch. He wakes up like this, goes to bed like this, he has constant energy. Even if we go fishing he couldn’t catch enough fish. We’re both competitive by nature. If he does slow down its rare and it’s only a couple of notches.

GopherHole: Tell me about you two, how did you meet?

Heather Fleck: We meet in Kalamazoo through a friend that kind of set us up. It was one of those deals where we went to dinner and it was a love at first site. I recruited him a bit. He’s my best recruit!

GopherHole: What else will Coach bring to the program that will shock Minnesota a bit?

Heather Fleck: The energy, the serving the community, the culture of the players on how they walk, how they talk, how they dress. PJ is here to shape boys into men.

GopherHole: Has there been any obstacles with being a father and mother figure with you being young?

Heather Fleck: Not at all, we can relate to them. It’s been advantageous for us.

I'm glad someone talked to Heather for a 1-on-1, and GL you're the perfect person to do it. Great job!

I saw she was in the room as the faxes came in. Interesting she's so involved at the University itself. I could see many coaching spouses not having any interest in being around their partner's jobs. They have both done a lot to be seen around town, and so that's a great start. I wish them best, no matter how long they stay...

Well done Nadine. Nice to see Heather's perspective. Thank you.

Great lady. Rebecca Kill was good too though. No doubt that Heather has more energy than the previous 5 coaches wives put together.

joshvanklomp said:

I'm glad someone talked to Heather for a 1-on-1, and GL you're the perfect person to do it. Great job!

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Thank you! You should actually thank Bleed, after I didn't get her on his 1st day, he asked me to see if I could get her today. She was unprepared, as was I, but she's just so easy to talk to.

Sparlimb said:

I saw she was in the room as the faxes came in. Interesting she's so involved at the University itself. I could see many coaching spouses not having any interest in being around their partner's jobs. They have both done a lot to be seen around town, and so that's a great start. I wish them best, no matter how long they stay...

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I was a little surprised too, especially with such a busy family. I remember how involved Rebecca was, but that was literally because she had to drive Coach Kill everywhere. I love seeing this - I can only imagine she's another weapon in his arsenal.

Dr.Don said:

Well done Nadine. Nice to see Heather's perspective. Thank you.

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Thank you! I was afraid my favorite friendly stalker had stop reading my stuff .

Not too surprised about her involvement, mainly because I watched enough videos that showed it's what they did at WMU. Not only her but the kids too. Even if it was only for 15-20 minutes after practice, they were there often.

Gives a small-town vibe now at a big institution, which I love!

I wonder where they are going to live. Heather mentioned putting in an offer on a house. If I were PJ, I'd buy the largest condo I could find near the river, and put the kids into De La Salle , to ensure being a few minutes from the practice facility. I'd probably target one of those newer 500K= 1M rowhouse style condos with three levels and rooftop deck just upriver from the Henn. Ave. Bridge on the NE side.

There is a lot to be said for walking two blocks to school, two blocks to the bar, two blocks to Lunds/ Byerlys six blocks to downtown,and 15 blocks to the office.. Or on the other hand Wayzata is not all bad, and the hell with "spending more time with the family".

oak_street1981 said:

I wonder where they are going to live. Heather mentioned putting in an offer on a house. If I were PJ, I'd buy the largest condo I could find near the river, and put the kids into De La Salle , to ensure being a few minutes from the practice facility. I'd probably target one of those newer 500K= 1M rowhouse style condos with three levels and rooftop deck just upriver from the Henn. Ave. Bridge on the NE side.

There is a lot to be said for walking two blocks to school, two blocks to the bar, two blocks to Lunds/ Byerlys six blocks to downtown,and 15 blocks to the office.. Or on the other hand Wayzata is not all bad, and the hell with "spending more time with the family".

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The schools in the area will be a factor in where they live, with 4 kids in grade school. Yes - for the main part - this is a big decision for them. This also could be a big plus if he is highly
successful here, to keep him from "moving up" to another football power. I say "power" because Minnesota is ripe for just that.

Sounds like we got a "two for one" with the Fleck's. Her presence on the recruiting trail has to be a big boost, especially for the Mom's know that Heather and kids will there for her son when he gets homesick or needs some TLC.

I'm a sucker for stuff like this. Thanks GopherLady. I love the fact that she is so involved.

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Seeing her around PJ and all she seems like she is part of the elite package you get. Not the wallflower type.

#2Gopher said:

Great lady. Rebecca Kill was good too though. No doubt that Heather has more energy than the previous 5 coaches wives put together.

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Mrs. Kill was always there. She was like Waldo. If you looked hard enough, you'd always see her. She not only was there to support the team, she was always strategically positioned to make sure coach Kill was okay. Mrs Kill was great.

They can both be great and yet slightly different.

She should be a great asset. Another problem with TC was he was single. Easier to recruit the mom
when they can relate to the HC's wife. Several player's parents have told us over their years that their comfort with Rebecca Kill was a huge selling point.

STPGopher said:

Mrs. Kill was always there. She was like Waldo. If you looked hard enough, you'd always see her. She not only was there to support the team, she was always strategically positioned to make sure coach Kill was okay. Mrs Kill was great.

They can both be great and yet slightly different.

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Mrs. Claeys was great, too. Why do we have to talk about a Rutgers Coach's wife in a thread about Heather Fleck? Moveon.org...it's obvious Kill has...

DougMN said:

Mrs. Claeys was great, too. Why do we have to talk about a Rutgers Coach's wife in a thread about Heather Fleck? Moveon.org...it's obvious Kill has...

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You're asking me? Mrs. Kill was brought up by someone else. My comment was pretty tame. Just saying both can be good in their own way.

Am I allowed to talk about Bobby Bell? Adam Weber? Mrs. Sherels?

It is nice to see a coaches wife involved with the program. They get to spend time together they otherwise would not have the luxury off in a frenetic high energy schedule, and they can relate with players and recruits.

STPGopher said:

You're asking me? Mrs. Kill was brought up by someone else. My comment was pretty tame. Just saying both can be good in their own way.

Am I allowed to talk about Bobby Bell? Adam Weber? Mrs. Sherels?

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You do realize this was a troll post...yes?

DougMN said:

Mrs. Claeys was great, too. Why do we have to talk about a Rutgers Coach's wife in a thread about Heather Fleck? Moveon.org...it's obvious Kill has...

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Because someone else brought her up. . .

oak_street1981 said:

I wonder where they are going to live. Heather mentioned putting in an offer on a house. If I were PJ, I'd buy the largest condo I could find near the river, and put the kids into De La Salle , to ensure being a few minutes from the practice facility. I'd probably target one of those newer 500K= 1M rowhouse style condos with three levels and rooftop deck just upriver from the Henn. Ave. Bridge on the NE side.

There is a lot to be said for walking two blocks to school, two blocks to the bar, two blocks to Lunds/ Byerlys six blocks to downtown,and 15 blocks to the office.. Or on the other hand Wayzata is not all bad, and the hell with "spending more time with the family".

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De la sale? They're like 5 years old?

Coach makes 3.5 a year. I think he can do better than a half million dollar condo on the river.


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