Matthew Bocklet
W ith the 25th overall pick in the 2008 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) draft, the Baltimore Bayhawks selected Matthew Bocklet, the Creek boys’ lacrosse coach for the past nine years.
During his 11-year professional career, he spent his last 10 seasons with the Denver Outlaws. After finishing his pro career in Denver, he stayed in Colorado to start his career as a high school head coach.
Since Bocklet started with Creek, he has had a 103-17 record, bringing home two state titles and the CHSAA 5A Coach of the Year award in 2023. Sophomore attack Case Billings (#23) believes that his coach is the right person for the job.
“He knows how to win, how to be great at the game,” Billings said.
With players believing in their coach’s ability to win, it helps bring winning seasons. Last year, he brought an undefeated 19-0 season and won a state championship. Bocklet isn’t new to being a leader on championship teams, as he was a team captain his last four years pro, winning three of his own titles in the MLL.
With his experience leading a locker room and his players trusting him as a coach, they look to learn from him.
“Everyone respects him incredibly,” Billings said. “That sort of thing in the locker room creates a sense of camaraderie and a mindset that everyone’s ready to learn because he’s so knowledgeable.”
As players look to him to improve, he draws on his own experiences to coach.
“I’d like to think I understand how to push myself as a player and try to motivate our team in the same way,” Bocklet said.
Being a leader and building up his team has led to the great seasons he has had as a player and coach. Using his experiences to build a community in his locker room.
“I love being a part of a team,” Bocklet said, “a group of people working together to become the best version of themself and to reach a common goal.”
Building a family off the field helps create chemistry on the field as they prepare for the upcoming season.
“The team has been working extremely hard this offseason,” Bocklet said. “It should be a great season.”
Deron Winn
For the first time in over two decades, the Wrestling team has a new head coach, and to fill that position comes in someone with a more than qualified resume. With a passage through the UFC, and a professional MMA record of 7-3, Deron Winn is Creek’s new wrestling coach.
In his professional career, Winn climbed up the ranks quickly, going pro right away, skipping the amateur level and making the UFC very early on.
“I made it to the UFC in five fights and under three years total doing MMA,” Winn said. “Then I was in the UFC for another three years where I racked up a record of 2–3. It was tough, I was learning on the job.”
His professional resume doesn’t stop there however, as he’s also been a part of the U.S. national team for freestyle wrestling and tried out for the Olympic team in 2012 and 2016.
“This I say would be more beneficial for [coaching] than the background in fighting,” Winn said. “Either way I have prepared, trained and been around coaches at the highest level.”
Beyond his professional career, Winn has a lot of high school wrestling experience under his belt. He won three state championships in his home state of Missouri as a student. He coached a high-ranking team at Gilroy High School in California.
With Winn’s extensive history with the sport through his entire life, choosing him to lead Creek’s wrestling team made sense.
“He obviously has a very strong record as a wrestler, so he’s got a lot of history,” said Athletics Director Jason Wilkins, who was on Winn’s hiring committee.
His experience isn’t the only reason he’s been chosen to take up the coaching position with him having many recommendations for the position.
“When wrestling people recommended him, Mr. Silva liked him, I liked him, that just leads you to be excited,” Wilkins said.
Winn’s first season coaching at Creek has already shown promise, with four wrestlers qualifying for state. Two of them, senior Xzavier Tixier and junior Oz Nowick, making it to semifinals.
“My first season coaching at Creek was great, but challenging,” Winn said. “I wasn’t used to being the guy in charge, but I’m doing my best to learn to be more efficient next year.”
With his first season down, he can look to the future and plan ahead and set goals for Creek’s wrestling program.
“My ultimate goal for Creek wrestling is to not only be the best team in the state, but one of the best in the country,” Winn said. “It will take a little time but I got all the ingredients to make it happen.”
