(5/1) It is so often that we shine a light on the student athletes but those often overlooked are the coaches who put in so much time to put together a great team and a great season. One coach on all minds has been the Walkersville Boys Basketball Coach Mike Mathis.
The Basketball coach started out as an assistant coach on the junior varsity girls basketball team in 1996. It all started when his wife was placed as the head coach and he followed her to help out. He was looking for a way to give back to his community even if he wasn’t an avid player himself. After a couple years assisting, his wife moved her coaching to FCC, placing him in charge of the girls Varsity team for a number of years. It wasn’t until 2016 that he moved from the girls team to the Boys Varsity Basketball team as an assistant coach.
Mike Mathis was greatly revered for he was able to lead the girls varsity basketball team to a championship victory. In 2003 the Girls Basketball team played a great season with about 20 games won and the state championships won against Middletown High School. This year at the 2023 season, Mathis had the opportunity to make the feat again with the Boys Basketball team making it all the way to regionals.
Since then he has been working with the Boys team. There was a brief pause due to covid but Mathis said, "I don’t think Covid really effected us, but I do think that it made some of the students more appreciative and even excited with this sport. I know that when they came back we got more motivation, more energy and even more participation from students and parent volunteers."
When the team came back for the 2022 season, it was also a good run. They won about 19 games with only 6 losses and the one of which was a playoff. The team was pretty bummed about it, as was the coach. However, Mathis believed that this only motivated the returning students. They suddenly has something to fight for which really played for the upcoming season.
A famous strategy that Mathis employs is his emphasis on defense. Not everyone can score, but everyone can play defensively and this is what leads the lions to victory. They can get the points they need without falling into any traps and they can play it smart so there is always have a strategy in play.
This has caused a huge success with the Boys basketball team. In the 2023 season they had a pretty good start to their season, loosing their first game against Frederick by 6 points but then winning the next six games against the likes of Linganore, Liberty, Brunswick, Boonsboro, Kent County Tournament, and SEED Tournament. They faced another close game against Oakdale losing with 40 to their 43. They then won against the next 14 games against Smithsbug, Catoctin, Middletown, Governor Thomas Johnson, Williamsport, River Hill, Brunswick, Tuscarora, Urbana, Brunswick, and Boonsboro. They lost to Frederick again, this time with a heavier loss 63-55 and then it was to the playoffs. They won against Poolesville, Middletown, and Liberty, only loosing to Largo by 2 points. They had made it to Regionals, the first step in their goal.
One could link this strong motivation of the Boys team with the 20th anniversary of the girls team win back in 2003. Mathis could recall a certain determination found in this seasons practices as they were all so locked in. Like many sports, Basketball players are at their best when they are in sync. When they all have the same goal in mind and the same passion, then they can accomplish anything. Mathis saw that in the determination to win they had this season.
If the team did move forward from the regional semi finals, Mathis would’ve made history as the second Maryland coach to ever land a state championship win both for the Boys Varsity Basketball Team and the Girls Varsity Basketball team. The only coach from Maryland known to accomplish this is Stan Kernan, the coach who won the Parkdales Boys team AA State titles in 1971 and 1976, as well as the Parkdales Girls team AA State Crown in 1981.
Sadly the play was not meant to be. The Boys Basketball team had finished as 2A West Regional Champions with a semi finals loss by 2 points. This does not make Mathis any less proud of how hard the students worked however nor did it really shake the spirit of the team. Mathis recalled being drenched in water by the team in the locker room after the Regional Championship Win, so it was clear that there was no shortage of good memories to come from this experience.
Mathis said, "It was hard work, but we all really had a good time, good comradery. Hopefully collectively as a program and a a team next year, we can continue to strive and to be great next year."
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