CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coastal Bend Coaches Association inducted two coaches into the Hall of Honor class of 2024 on Thursday, Lanny Wilson and the late Tim Holt.
"You know it's been a lot. It's been a lot of years and it's taken lots of people. I mean generations," Wilson said. "I've got you know people that I'm coaching now that are 15-years-old and I've got people that I've worked with or against that are 70-years-old, so it's been a lot of good people. Lots of players, coaches, administrators, opponents, parents and everybody working together, and it's special."
Both coaches made pit-stops in Live Oak County and Gregory-Portland during their coaching career. Wilson was the assistant to Holt during his tenure at G-P around 1998-2001. Holt passed away in Oct. 2021, but the bond Wilson built with him continued after all those years.
"He spent a lot of time checking on my dad when he was in the hospital and when he was sick," Cayleb Holt, Tim's son, said. "He's always stayed in touch with him. They're actually really good friends, which is funny they're getting inducted at the same time."
Wilson began his career at Three Rivers, and throughout his career worked in Pleasanton, Goliad and Cuero to name a few. He made two stints as a head coach, Harlingen South and Round Rock. The latter he coached his current head coach at Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial, Ben Bitner.
"I wouldn't be here. I mean I wouldn't have coached. I wouldn't have gone to school. I wouldn't have done any of that,' Bitner said. " I remember when I was trying to decide to go to college or not I drove over to his house at 2 a.m. and he sat and talked to me. Ended up going to college. Ended up going into coaching and that's due to him."
Wilson graduated from Charlotte High School in 1982.
WILSON'S COACHING CAREER
Three Rivers (1987)
Pleasanton
Goliad
Gregory-Portland (with Tim Holt)
Round Rock (Head Coach)
Gonzales
Harlingen South (Head Coach)
Santa Maria
Cuero
Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial (Third Season 2023, Current)
The Caller-Times also awarded their Coach of the Year Thursday night. Odem's Armando Huerta won the award after turning a (1-9) team into an (8-3) team the following season.
