OVIEDO, Fla. — It's hard to attend an Oviedo High boy's basketball game and not notice Michael Wilkie's presence on the sidelines.

  • Michael Wilkie is a former Oviedo High student
  • Has been a part of program for more than a decade
  • Head coach says he's a critical part of the team

“It’s awesome to be there," the longtime Lion said. "Basically, I’m the leader of the team.”

You can hear him shouting at and encouraging members of the Oviedo team throughout every game, freshman through varsity.

It wouldn't be a stretch to say he's Oviedo's biggest supporter.

“When I talk to him about different things we’re going to do, it has be around the basketball," his father, Paul Wilkie, said. "We can’t do anything else. If there’s going to be a basketball game, Oviedo basketball comes first.”

Sports have been essential for the younger Wilkie. He currently coaches for the Special Olympics and has played sports his entire life. Getting lost in the game is what makes him competitive in the first place.

“I close my eyes and think that it’s going to be a good game," he said. "And when it’s over, I just open my eyes, and we just won.”

Second-year head coach Jason Vallery sees Michael as a critical piece for his team.

“He’s more than a manager for sure," Vallery said. "He’s always talking to the kids, helping them be a positive influence throughout the experience.”

So positive, it was only natural that a promotion was in line.

“All along, he had been the helper, he had been the manager, doing whatever the coaches asked him to do. And I think it even caught off guard when coach introduced him as assistant Mikey Wilkie," Paul Wilkie said.

“I cried," Michael said, remembering the moment. "It’s emotional. But everything I’ve been done at Oviedo the past 13 years, I stop, I never stop loving basketball."

But he doesn't want to stop there.

“My love in basketball is going to be the best coach, and hopefully in the future be the head coach," Michael said.

And Oviedo seems to be the perfect place for him to give it a shot.

"Everybody talks about me every time here," he said. "It’s just special. I just, I really love everybody here. They’re like a family to me.”