Matthew Wilson came to Holly HS in 1997 as a physics teacher and coach. It was over the next 18 years that tells the story of the impact and life-long lessons that he was able to impart on his students and athletes that provides the justification for him being bestowed this honor. Matt began his coaching tenure in the boy’s golf program and baseball program. In golf, Matt began as an assistant coach from 1997-1999 before taking over the helm in 2000. He led the boys golf team for the next 13 years before returning to an assistant role for his last three year. Matt also was the freshman baseball coach at Holly High School from 1997-2002.
One of the other lasting legacies that Coach Wilson left here at Holly HS was the creation of the varsity girls golf program. Coach Wilson built the proposal that was eventually submitted to the Board of Education for their approval and the team was established. Typically, when a new program starts, it takes many years to see any type of success, but that was not the case with Holly Girls Golf under Coach Wilson. Almost immediately, the Girl’s golf team was competitive and saw success, and that led to more and more girl student athletes that may have looked at other sports, to explore golf instead. During his tenure as the Girls Golf Coach he sent multiple players on to play golf at the next level in college. Coach Wilson’s ability to develop players and have them reach their potential in competition was truly remarkable. Coach Wilson led the girls golf team from 2009-2014 and then assisted with the administration of the 2015 MHSAA Regional hosted by Holly High School.
Coach Wilson was also a big believer that the word student in student-athlete was not optional. It seemed like year in and year out his golf teams were on the all-state academic lists. Coach Wilson knew that discipline in the classroom led to discipline on the golf course, and that they were not mutually exclusive.
Over the course of his tenure as both the boys and girls golf coach, Coach Wilson earned recognition as the district, county, and regional coach of the year on more than one occasion. During his tenure, Coach Wilson’s team’s won 2 FML Championships and 2 Oakland County Championships. Coach Wilson’s career dual meet record for the boys was 87-62 and for the girls was 36-26. In the words of former player, former PGA teaching professional, and fellow HHS Hall of Fame member Eric Dovre, “Coach Wilson saw something in me when I was only 15 years old and played a 30+ yard slice on every shot. Most coaches would have probably cut me from JV Golf, but Coach Wilson gave me a chance. Because of the love of the game that Coach Wilson instilled in me, I was able to succeed at the high school level, become an all GLIAC player at Ferris St., and become a PGA Professional. Needless to say, without that first chance to be part of the team and the chance to get the golf bug, my life would have certainly turned out differently if golf was not a part of it.”
Coach Wilson retired from teaching and coaching in 2014 and currently resides in Oxford with his with Pam. Coach now enjoys spending time with his three children and three grandchildren.