In an evening where the successes of the Mathews High School winter sports teams were on display, some big changes were announced in the school’s athletic program.
During Tuesday night’s Mathews County School Board meeting in the MHS media center, which began with a recap of the recently concluded basketball and wrestling programs, two major announcements were made.
Paul White, who has served as athletic director for the past seven years, will be stepping down on March 28 to accept the job of head football coach at The Apprentice School. And Blue Devil wrestling coach Tom Holaday, who guided that program for the past 15 seasons, also announced his retirement.
MHS baseball coach Derek Kibler, who previously served as assistant athletic director, will be stepping up to the position of athletic director for the remainder of the school year. Al Thomas, who teaches government at MHS, was appointed assistant AD for the remainder of the year.
White first came to Mathews in 2004 after two seasons heading up the football program at Gloucester High School. He served as head football coach at MHS that year. In 2007, he replaced Al DeWitt as athletic director. White was also head football coach from 2009-2012.
White was one of 92 applicants for the head coaching job at The Apprentice School, he said. Last year, he coached linebackers and helped with two special teams at the Newport News school. After the season, the head coach resigned to resume his duties as Director of Admissions for Athletics.
“It is a good fit for me and my family,” White said. Currently, three coaches have been recruiting in Virginia, N.C., S.C., Ga. and Fla. and the visit weekends have already begun. “I look forward to helping as many young people in our surrounding counties as possible if they have an interest,” White said.
“I also am grateful for my experiences at Mathews High School as a teacher, athletic director, assistant and head football coach,” he added.
At the start of Tuesday’s meeting, MHS principal Albert Green touted the successes of the school’s winter sports seasons. He began on a sad note, announcing the retirement of Holaday. “We’re saying goodbye to a legend,” Green said.
Holaday began his final season by saying that this year’s team was not a good one. It was a young squad and it lacked the depth of previous years.
However, led by the example of his team leaders, and the dedication of his wrestlers, the Blue Devils compiled a 9-4 regular season dual meet record, won the Conference 42 championships, placed second in the region and ninth in the state.
He pointed with pride to the team’s second-place finish in the region, saying that the difference between second and third places came down to three points that the Devils’ closest competitor had deducted from their totals for unsportsmanlike conduct. In all his 15 seasons at MHS, he said, he has never had a wrestler penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.
In other programs, wrestlers are instructed not to take off their head gear after a loss out of concern that they may throw it down on the mat and be penalized. Holaday said he’s never had to instruct his wrestlers to do that; they always exhibit good sportsmanship no matter the circumstance.
Even in this year’s state championship finals, where MHS senior Austin Fravel lost a controversial bout for the title, Holaday said his wrestler went over to his opponent, head held high, and shook his hand.
Another highlight of the winter sports season was the performance of the boys’ basketball team, which won its first conference (district) championship since 1979. Head coach Curtis Williamson said that one of the highlights of the season for him was defeating rival West Point for the title.
The season was by no means an easy one for Williamson. At one point, because of injuries and other reasons, he had only six players on his roster. “But they fought hard” and made it all the way to the regional semifinals. Deondre Foster ended his career at Mathews High School reaching the 1,000-point milestone. “It was a great honor to coach these kids,” he said, adding that next year’s team has a chance to be even better.
Tommy Eriksen had his work cut out for him as he took over the varsity girls’ basketball program, losing about 80-90 percent of the previous season’s scoring and rebounding to graduation. “We were young,” he said.
Even so, the team made it to the regional semifinals and knocked rival West Point out of the playoffs.
In other sports-related news from Tuesday’s meeting, the school board appointed three volunteers to assist Kibler with this year’s baseball program—Brian Moore, Timothy Houston and Hunter Calloway.