Introduction by Mason Balch ’18

Good afternoon, my name is Mason Balch, class of 2018, and it is my pleasure to present Todd Francis, class of 1983, for induction into the Hall of Fame.

Todd Francis was no stranger to Williston when he enrolled here in the fall of 1977.The son of longtime athletic director and coach Rick Francis, Mr. Francis grew up right here on campus.Not surprisingly, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, as athletics became a big part of his Williston experience.An accomplished three-sport athlete, Mr. Francis won the Denman Award given to the top senior boy athlete in the school.In the fall, Mr. Francis captained, and was the MVP, of his father’s 1982 football team.During the winter, he played hockey for Coach Bob Shaw.

While he was a strong contributor to both of these programs, he made his biggest impact in the spring as a member of the lacrosse program.A three year starter at goalie, Mr. Francis captained the team as a senior earning All New England honors.He then went on to a tremendous career at Cornell where, as a senior, he earned All Ivy and All American honors as a long-stick middie while helping to lead his team to the national championship game.Following his graduation, he went on to play professional indoor lacrosse for the Boston Blazers for ten years captaining the team in his final year.

After retiring, he followed in his father’s footsteps by beginning a long coaching career in which he has coached on both the high school and international level. On the international level, he has helped coach the US National Indoor Lacrosse teams in both 2007 and 2014. After many years at Newburyport High School in Massachusetts, he is currently the head coach of Plant High School in Tampa, Florida where he has led the team to a record of 123-38 over the past nine seasons.

Mr. Francis, please join us on stage to accept your award.