Elk Grove High School Lady Herd Basketball Elk Grove, California

Jim Wilson

Junior Varsity Head Coach

IN MEMORIAM

This is Coach Wilson's fourth year on his second time around as the Junior Varsity Coach at Elk Grove High School. He began his basketball coaching career 31 years ago at Sacred Heart School in Sacramento, coaching both 8th grade and 6th grade boys' teams in the Parochial Athletic League. While he was there, he coached two 8th grade City Championship teams, two 6th grade City Championship teams, and never had a losing season.

Nineteen years ago, Coach Wilson returned to his alma mater, Elk Grove High School, where an old PAL rival, Pete Archerda, persuaded him to take over the women's junior varsity team. He coached that team for 15 years until withdrawing five years ago. After a one year lay-off and then a year coaching the St. Francis 8th grade girls' team, he returned to take over the JV program under Coach Benson. In his career, Coach Wilson has coached 997 games, with his teams winning 726 of them, for a 72.8% winning record. Coach Wilson believes in coaching respect, responsibility, commitment, and basketball, in that order. He is a proponent of a pressing and trapping defense, based on a hard-nosed player-to-player defense, and a post oriented offensive game.

When he is not coaching basketball, Coach Wilson's other passions are coaching the Herd Freshman Football Team and his avocation, which is being a counselor at Elk Grove High School. He and his wife Colleen, who teaches at Kerr Middle School, have raised two sons, Jimmy, 25, and Jerry, 23. They enjoy entertaining, gardening, travel, and each other.