Soccer coach plans memorial service for player

A memorial service at Patriots Park on Sunday will give family and friends an opportunity to remember Tariq Fischer.

Fischer, a former Lakeside student and member of several Patriots Park soccer teams, was killed in a car crash July 13, 2005, along with two friends on Interstate 20 just east of Crawfordville, Ga.

On Sunday at 3:30 p.m., a tree will be planted in memory of Fischer at Patriots Park.

Patriots Park soccer coach Rich Battaglia and his wife, Nancy, have led the cause to raise funds for the tree and a plaque to remember Fischer's life.

Sunday's tree-planting comes 16 days after what would have been Fischer's 20th birthday.

"We did it for the family," Mrs. Battaglia said. "This is the worst time of the year to deal with that. We want to make sure they know we haven't forgotten him."

Richard Richards, also a former coach of Fischer, will be on hand for the tree-planting.

"It will be, I believe, an October Glory Maple tree planted on the corner of the Columbia Soccer Field, the first one closest to the gym," he said.

Richards was one of Fischer's first soccer coaches and said that he had coached the young player when Fischer was 12 years old.

"He was one of the original members of my team, the Viper Soccer Club," Richards said.

"We traveled together for five years, every weekend. He's part of the soccer family," he said.

Richards said that a plaque eventually would accompany the tree as a memorial to permanently remember Fischer.

"We're still trying to raise money," Battaglia said. "I wanted to open it up to the teammates first."

To contribute to the tree and plaque fund, contact Nancy Battaglia at (706) 228-4862.