Lessons in the Game of Life

Athletics Hall of Fame
Pete Fewing
Head Coach, SU Men’s Soccer
Assistant Athletic Director | Special Projects

In soccer parlance, the rules of the game are called “laws” and there are 17 of them. 

But legendary Seattle University Men’s Soccer Coach Pete Fewing, now Assistant Athletic Director for Special Projects—in addition to his duties as a broadcaster for the Seattle Sounders FC—had six additional rules for his players.

The first five are focused on what it means to be a responsible student, person and teammate, Fewing's core values. But the sixth and final rule might exemplify his approach to life and the principles he holds dear: Walk quickly across crosswalks.

“It's a little bit of awareness,” says Fewing, one of this year’s inductees into the Athletics Hall of Fame. “Somebody's trying to take a free right, their tires are turned or their blinkers are on and if you're walking slow across the crosswalk, you're basically telling them, ‘My time's way more important than your time.’”

When asked his reaction to his induction into the Hall of Fame, he rattles off the illustrious names he will be joining, such as NBA legend Elgin Baylor, ‘59, tennis star and coach Janet Hopps Adkisson, ‘56, Johnny and Eddie, ’53—the O’Brien twins—up to more recent additions including soccer scoring star Stephanie Verdoia, ’15, Seattle Sounders defender Alex Roldan, ’18, and two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, ’18.

“I'm honored to join that list,” he says, adding that he is humbled by the recognition. “It’s because of everybody else who did the work on the field. I didn't really have to do much but sit on the sidelines.”

In typical fashion, the midfielder from Burien, Wash., with two British immigrant parents, downplays his abilities, calling himself an “OK” athlete who just worked hard and had an attitude disposed toward teamwork. He started a youth soccer camp in 1981, the Peter Fewing Soccer Camps, which are still going strong, and played college ball at the University of Washington and then professionally for the Seattle Storm during the “dark ages of professional soccer.”

During his college days he happened into coaching. As his playing career wound down, he saw the potential of SU men’s soccer and convinced athletics administrators to give him a chance. 

“‘Hey, we can win the national championship here,’” he recalls saying. 

In 1988, he took over as coach after SU endured eight straight losing seasons, before he led the team to the 1997 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship and the 2004 NCAA Division II National Championship, earning National Coach of the Year honors each season. In 2006, he left the program before returning in 2012 until his retirement in 2023. As coach he compiled a record of 343 wins, 197 losses and 50 draws and when he stepped down he was ranked #11 among active coaches in career wins. 

The game has never faded from his view. Fewing can recall games decades ago, down to the second, including then first-ranked SU’s 1-0 2004 win over the University of the Incarnate Word—a team ranked #8 in the country—when SU player Alex Chursky, with a sprained ankle and assisted by Bobby McAlister, leaped into the air to head the ball into the goal in the final moments.

“First touch at 10, cross at seven, header at five, in at three seconds, and that sent us to the Final Four,” he says. “We won the national title that year, so, pretty fun.”

Fewing also maintains close contact with his former players, over the years officiating weddings for five players. Demonstrating the enduring bond he has with players and their families, he’s been called to speak at funerals of former players who have passed. 

When former players get together, they text him photos, which means the world to him.

“It gets me teary-eyed. Their children become our grandchildren and I know a lot of their grandkids and their wives, man, they're like my daughters.”

Outside of SU, Fewing travelled across the Puget Sound to coach the Kitsap Pumas in the Professional Development League (PDL), leading them in 2011 to round 16 in the United States Open Cup, further than any other PDL team, and winning the PDL National Championship the same year. 

Though he is no longer coaching the Redhawks, Fewing remains a strong presence on campus, maintaining the brotherhood of teammates that has been his calling.

“It's my home, it's my family,” he says. “I've spent more than half my life on the campus.”