By Wendi Reardon Price
Clarkston News Sports Writer
As student-athletes were settling into practices and routines for the 2023 fall season in the first full week of August, Sara Wilson was settling into her responsibilities in the Clarkston High School Athletics office.
Wilson began her role as new athletic secretary in early August.
“I am excited to be here,” she said. “I am excited to be involved with in the sports aspect to be working with the student-athletes, the coaches and the community.”
Wilson shared she has lived in the area since she was a child. After graduating from Our Lady of the Lakes, she attended Western Michigan University where she earned her teaching degree. She taught for Huron Valley Schools for 22 years. Then, she took a leave for several years.
When the position in the athletics office opened, it was “a good opportunity,” she said.
“I wanted to be back in the schools,” she said. “But I feel like this is a change of pace for me being in the athletic department.”
Wilson’s experiences in athletics covers a wide spectrum. Wilson and her husband, Aaron, are parents of three children who play sports or have once competed in sport.
The youngest, Olivia, is a freshman at Clarkston Junior High School who is on the competitive cheer team. Their son, Leo, is a senior at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. The oldest, Ciara, is a junior at Western Michigan University.
She was a student-athlete and played softball and basketball. She has been a coach.
“I have seen the student-athlete perspective, coach’s perspective and now will be on the other side,” Sara said.
“I think athletics teaches student-athletes so much about being a teammate, being a leader, being disciplined, being able to focus,” she shared on what athletics means to her. “For me and my kids, it’s so important to have athletics of some sort even with clubs. It helps kids when they are busier to stay more disciplined. It teaches kids how to balance life, work together as a team. It’s a positive all around to be still be a part of it. It teaches you much more than the game.”
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