GOAZCATS.com - Bill Wacholz will be missed

June 19, 2009

Jason Nimrichter
GOAZCATS.com Staff Writer

The Arizona Wildcats lost a member of its family last week when former offensive lineman Bill Wacholz suddenly passed away.

The news of Wacholz's passing came as a shock to everyone that was familiar with him. Whether it was fans or former teammates, the loss of Wacholz stunned everyone who heard about it, as he was only 23 years old.

Wacholz came to Wildcats' family from San Diego Rancho Bernardo High School in 2004. He had generated a lot of recruiting interest even after suffering a broken leg in his senior season. Before the injury, Wacholz was being pursued by several big programs and his stock was shooting through the roof.

After the injury, he thought he was going to have to go the JUCO route, but was so impressive at a JUCO combine that it drew attention from several programs including UA, Arizona State, Oregon State and Washington State.

Eventually, he ended up at Arizona where he spent most of his time backing up players like Peter Graniello and Eben Britton. Wacholz was considered a very hard worker ? evidence of that was displayed after breaking his leg his senior year of high school ? and a very kind individual.

Wacholz's former Wildcat teammate and close friend Adam Hawes was saddened by the news.

"Bill was my lifting partner while I was at the U," Hawes said. "He definitely pushed me in the weight room. We were pretty much always competing for the same spot and he was never anything but a great guy about it.

"He was always a little quirky in his own way but always seemed to lighten the mood. Even when stuff was bad, he'd be positive. The guy never quit on anything, had to be one of the nicest people all around that I've met, just not a mean bone in his body.

"I don't really know what else to say about the guy, but he's going to be missed and it sucks to lose one of the team brothers at such a young age."

Britton, the former UA tackle, was in complete shock when he found out about the death of his friend

"I was driving when I found out, and I had to pull over to the side of the road," Britton told the Arizona Daily Star. "I was shaking. It's so sad for it to happen to such a kind guy. Bill was never a guy you had to worry about. He was a quiet guy, but he had a great sense of humor. I think he really loved playing football and he really loved competing."

When we lose someone close and dear to us, it tends to put everything in its proper context. The loss of Wacholz reaches beyond the boundaries of his family and close friends.

Sure, the loss of a human being can put athletics into perspective, but let's not forget that athletics is what brought these friends together. It drove Wacholz like it drives many others. It provided a lot more to these men than just having fun tossing a ball around and hitting people.

The game of football brought Wacholz to Arizona and provided him and many of his teammates with personal relationships and many bonding experiences that run deeper than what happens on the gridiron.

What goes further than that is the affect that Wacholz had on fans. He may not have been a "star" on the team, but he was a backup offensive lineman who came in, gave maximum effort and did his job when called upon.

In a sport that tends to generate a portion of "me-first" players that are more determined with promoting themselves rather than focusing on the team and winning games, Wacholz was the antithesis of that. He was the always-smiling, hard-working lineman who was just happy to be doing what he was doing.

The loss of Wacholz touches the fan base as well. While there is a portion of the UA faithful that may have never even heard of him, the loss still generated sadness within many of them.

Wacholz, in many ways, represented the average man. People will look into his story and find a blue-collar guy with a big heart and strong determination. They will find that guy and see themselves in him. Just a normal guy working hard everyday in hopes of living a fruitful life; a guy who woke up, went to work, didn't complain and made many friends in the process.

For the ones who followed the team closely, they'll see the loss of Wacholz like losing one of their personal friends. They would see him in his #52 jersey on the sideline or on the field and would connect with him as fans do with the players they cheer for. He was one of their own.

Whether they knew him or not, it didn't matter. They saw him often, working hard to simply entertain the thousands of people that would watch him and his Wildcats' teammates on Saturdays in the fall.

When we lose someone we know or feel we have some sort of connection to, we tend to think about what's really important in life. Whatever that may be to you, a passing makes you focus more on that. Wacholz's passing will undoubtedly reach to someone out there and help them live a better life. It will make them push harder and refrain from giving up.

So when you remember William Wacholz Jr., remember to take advantage of the opportunities that life provides you that he won't get to take advantage of. Remember the people that we don't hear about that pass on every single day and, most of all, remember to take care of yourself and those around you.

If anything, the story of Wacholz is a reminder of how fragile life really is. That fact often escapes us here in the world of sports and we tend to focus on the more trivial parts of life probably more than we should.

The Wacholz family lost a son, a grandson, and a nephew. The Wildcat family lost a hard-worker, a great student-athlete and a brother.

Without question, this is a brother the UA football family will sorely miss.

A Memorial Service celebrating Bill's life will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, June 19, 2009, at Poway-Bernardo Mortuary in Poway, CA.

The family prefers that memorial contributions be made in Bill Jr.'s name to the American Diabetes Association or the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Arrangements are by Poway-Bernardo Mortuary.