New assistant golf coach Matthew Schwolert may be new to the staff this year, but he’s not a stranger to the Marcus community.
Since he moved to the Flower Mound area in 2002, Matthew has been involved in the town’s affairs. He has an eighth grader enrolled at Briarhill, a first grader at Highland Village Elementary and multiple nieces and nephews at the school.
“My kids are going to go here, [and] I feel like I’m part of the community of Flower Mound, Lewisville and Highland Village,” Matthew said.
He has a niece, sophomore Zoey Schwolert, and a nephew, junior Sam Lyles, that currently attend Marcus, where he is working as both a coach and a teacher.
“We don’t see much of each other, but it is neat to know that they’re here, and if they need something, I’d like to think that I could help them,” he said.
Matthew isn’t the only one that appreciates being able to see his family during school. Zoey says that having her uncle work at her school is great.
“I’ve never had a teacher that’s related to me, so it’s pretty cool be able to go say hi to him,” Zoey said.
According to the Matthew, however, this transition has taken Zoey some getting used to.
“It’s funny [because] I don’t think she’s really sure what to call me yet,” Matthew said. “At home she calls me Uncle Matt, but here she doesn’t know what to say. But she loves it as far as I know.”
Matthew also already had a relationship with the golf team prior to being hired. Last year, after his nephew, senior Max Schwolert, died from complications from the flu, his family and the golfers leaned on each other for support.
“We can’t deny that it happened, and I know it was a big part of what this team went through last year and a big part of what myself and my family went through,” he said. “But it’s not something that has created any kind of awkwardness [with the team]. If anything it’s probably helped because a lot of them already kind of knew me.”
The link created between Matthew and the team was just one of the reasons why he decided to apply for the assistant coaching job once it became available at the end of last year.
“I had already had a relationship with Coach Gabel,” he said. “And I had teaching experience, coaching experience and a lot of golf experience. It just seemed a natural fit, so I interviewed for the position and was fortunate enough to be hired.”
Since beginning work on the first day of school, Matthew has been surrounded by preparations for the upcoming season. Each day he supervises morning practice for the JV team and then afternoon practices for varsity. In addition to coaching, he also teaches Algebra.
Head coach Kerry Gabel said he is confident in his new colleague’s abilities.
“[He has] a positive attitude, he’s a good role model and, of course, has the knowledge of the golf swing,” Gabel said. “I think overall he’s a solid fit for the program, and we’re very lucky to have him.”
Matthew said he believes that coaching and teaching at the school is where he belongs.
“The people are what make Marcus,” he said. “And in the short time I’ve been here, for three weeks or so, it’s really the people that make this place what it is and the place that I like to come.”
