Submitted photoCoach Bill Wilhelm is known for his sense of humor. Here, he dressed as “Tinker Bill” Wilhelm for a student/teacher dance-off during a spring sports pep rally in 2018.

THOMASVILLE — Bill Wilhelm is the epitome of the Yellow Jacket spirit.

The educator has spent all but 2.5 years of his 32.5-year career in education with Thomas County Central High School; the others were in the Lowndes County Schools system. He says what kept him at TCCHS for three decades is the family atmosphere.

“Thomasville has been a great place to raise my family,” he said. “And all my boys bleed blue and gold.”

Wilhelm, who is certified in special education, holds a degree in education/physical education and a master’s in education with an emphasis in coaching, both from Valdosta State College (now VSU).

“Coaching got me into education,” he said of his decision to become an educator. “I wanted to give back to students/players the life lessons I learned through the sports I played in high school.”

Wilhelm was named TCCHS Teacher of the Year in 2002, an accolade he calls a humbling honor. His roster of taught classes at TCCHS includes personal fitness, health, weight training, general physical education and physical science.

“Weight training was my favorite to teach just to watch the young men and how they improve in four years of training,” Wilhelm said. “I can’t tell you how many kids will say to me how they could bench press 135 pounds as a freshman and lift over 300 pounds as a senior.”

If there is one lesson Wilhelm hopes his students take away from their time in his class(es), it would be to embrace their individuality.

“God made you ‘you,’” he said. “He didn’t make someone else, so go be you. Don’t try to be someone or something you are not.”

And students have taught him a valuable lesson as well.

“Don’t hold a grudge,” Wilhelm shared. “When they do something that upsets you, don’t carry it with you. They forget it before the next day anyway.”

General P.E. student Eli McCabe, 16, said Wilhelm has taught him to find his passion and never give up.

“He is passionate about what he does in this school, and he puts a lot of effort into the activities we do,” McCabe said.

In sports, Wilhelm’s been part of the football coaching staff his entire career — coaching long snappers and kickers every year and offensive line all but his last year when he coached defensive end — and was head wrestling coach for 26 years.

“It is amazing watching young men take their talents and putting what you teach them into motion on the playing fields,” he said.

Decades on the sidelines means Wilhelm has witnessed countless inspirational moments in TCCHS sports history. One moment is when heavyweight Robin Hurst won the state wrestling tournament in 2003. Another that will always stick with him is the event that led to the school’s first of five state football championships: winning the semi-final playoff game at Stephens County.

“After a turnover let them score to take a 14-6 lead with less than two minutes left in the game, we scored and completed a two-point conversion that tied the game to send it into overtime at the end of regulation,” he said. “We were unable to move the ball at all during overtime, and with our last possession and six seconds left, we threw a pass from Ricky Stacey to Paul Miranda that sealed the win.”

Off the field, Wilhelm has sponsored the TCCHS Fellowship of Christian Athletes club since 1990. 

“It is so important for the school to be able to have a Christian based club, so they (students) can share the Gospel with others here,” he said.

Membership grows steadily and sponsoring the club is akin to coaching a sports team, Wilhelm adds.

“You get kids when they are freshmen and try to teach and get them to a higher level by the time they leave you as seniors,” he explains. “Once they are gone, you have to start with the next group teaching them the same things all over again. It is a constant state of renewal.”

One of Wilhelm’s role models at TCCHS is longtime administrator Frank “Poppa D.” Delaney Jr., whom Wilhelm says “has an innate ability to talk with anybody, from a screaming parent to an upset student.”

Delaney feels the most impactful thing Wilhelm has done for the school’s youth may be through FCA.

“He gave them a sense of being responsible to a higher being through involvement in FCA,” Delaney said.

And one never knew where else Wilhelm might show up, from the cafeteria to the parking lot, or other tasks he might perform.

“I was ‘Captain Lunch’ for many years as I had lunch duty every day for every lunch period,” he said. “I have had parking lot duty every morning for as long as I can remember. I sew and repair uniforms for the football and wrestling teams mainly but have repaired for basketball and baseball as well.”

This knack for sewing is something longtime friend and former coworker Ken Harper remembers well.

“He’s the only coach I know to have a sewing machine in his equipment room where he would sew up garments,” Harper recalled. “We had tons of practice equipment, but instead of giving the guys new jerseys and new pants, he would sew them up. He was a good sewer, too.”

Wilhelm has left his mark on TCCHS, and many students and coworkers — former and current — will miss him.

Harper, who was a linebackers coach from 1984-99 and then an administrator until his retirement in 2014, said he and Wilhelm quickly became close in their early years of working together.

“Bill came to us in 1989 from Lowndes,” Harper said. “We got to be pretty close because he was commuting his first year, and so my wife, my kids and I decided we’d have Bill spend a couple of nights a week with us instead of making that long commute after football. That’s how we became real close real fast. We spent a tremendous amount of time together. Bill was a very detailed and committed coach.”

Outside of work, Harper was a groomsman in Wilhelm’s wedding. He has a special place in his heart for Wilhelm’s parents, who were faithful friends and supporters of the football program.

“There are people who enhance your life, and his parents were definitely those type of people,” Harper said. “He’s just a great guy. I’m proud of him and that he never left us (TCCHS).”

Delaney, who also thinks highly of Wilhelm’s parents, said one quality that made Wilhelm stand out as an educator was his willingness to accept advice, Delaney continued.

“As a young teacher, Coach Wilhelm was always open to advice to help him be the best,” he said. “He worked hard. He worked with young people to teach them a value system that would go beyond a classroom setting.”

Since this was his first year at TCCHS, student Dashaun Mitchell, 16, is sad Wilhelm is retiring.

“I will miss him,” he said of Wilhelm. “He is a good and reliable coach. He always does the fair thing, even if the other person is in the wrong.”

Student Kendall Lee, 18, hoped Wilhelm would be here for her senior year.

“I feel Coach Wilhelm is very understanding, a jokester, full of wisdom and someone who makes sports/games fun and enjoyable,” she said. “I feel this way because he has been there when some days were a little down/sad, and he does his best to make activities fun and educational. I have learned in his class that even on the worst days always come through with your head up and a smile. This sticks with me because I have had days I wasn’t happy, but coming to his class always brightened my day. I hope he enjoys his retirement even though I will miss him dearly. I have always looked forward to his class and enjoyed him being my P.E. coach.”

Wilhelm is a family man. He’s been married to wife Kristi for 25 years this June, and they have three boys: Conley, 21, is a senior at Piedmont College; Ben, 18, graduated from TCCHS this year and will begin attending Georgia Tech in June; and Kris, 13, a rising eighth-grader at Thomas County Middle School.

Watching and teaching/coaching his children as Yellow Jackets is another highlight of Wilhelm’s career.

“When Conley was a senior, Ben was a freshman and Kris was a manager for the football team,” he recalls. “Every Friday night was extremely special because all my boys were on the field with me, and my whole family would sing the alma mater together at the end of each game.”

Now that he’s decided to retire and the last day has arrived, Wilhelm has no regrets or second-guessing.

“It is exciting,” he said. “I remember years ago listening to previous coaches talking about how old they would be when it came time to retire. It was just like yesterday.”

And the first thing on his retirement list is spending some quality time with his wife.

“We are going on a cruise to the Bahamas, and then we are planning our 25th anniversary trip this summer,” he said.

As he exits the hallowed halls of education, Wilhelm does have one piece of advice to leave his fellow educators.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff,” he said. “You can only control your part. It is not your job to worry about what others do or do not do. Do your job the best you can.”