As a skinny little kid born in 1959 trying to find his way, Riverdale Baptist Head Coach Louis Wilson used basketball to find his way to the glory life’s special moments.

The self-described skinny little kid had one of those moments when Wilson, the lifelong resident of Upper Marlboro, Md., led the Capital All-Stars to their second consecutive victory over the United States All-Stars in the 37th Annual Capital Classic.

“Coach has a great personality, he always wants to win,” said Riverdale Baptist senior Justin Drummond. “He’s an awesome coach when it comes to knowing the game.”

With all that knowledge for the game, Wilson recently was named the Coach of the Decade by The Prince Georges County Gazette, along earning the Coach of the Year honors for National Association of Christian Athletics many times, according to the Riverdale Baptist basketball Web site.

“This has to be one of the toughest areas in high school basketball,” said Wilson, “There are so many great players and coaches.”

Even with all the success, basketball was not the only passion of Wilson’s as a young kid.

At the age of eight, Wilson had a basketball in one hand and a baseball in the other, loving sports both equally. At the age of 12, Wilson began playing football. He played baseball, football and basketball until his freshman year in high school, when fate intervened.

“It was just a blessing,” said Wilson. “God just leads you in the way you’re supposed to go.”

The divine intervention came in the form of a broken collarbone sustained while Wilson was trying to scramble towards the sidelines as the quarterback during a game. The injury forced him to give up football after freshman year.

The following year, Wilson was playing baseball when he twisted his knee sliding into third base. He gave up baseball after his sophomore year in high school, leaving his first love— basketball.

“I had always loved basketball,” said Wilson, “Basketball was my first love, followed by baseball and football.”

Wilson’s first mentor, his father, would coach him in Boys & Girls Club baseball and basketball games. Wilson learned about camaraderie from his dad as they traveled from game to game in their station wagon.

With basketball as his main focus, Wilson graduated from Frederick Douglass High School, taking his love for basketball with him to Howard University, where he led that Bison to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1981.

“It was an awesome feeling,” said Wilson, who added leading Howard to the tournament was the highlight of his collegiate basketball career. “It brings back chills in my body, winning the championship, cutting down the nets and hanging them around my neck.”

While at Howard, Coach and mentor A.B Williamson taught Wilson how to grow up as a young man and how to take traits from other people and instill them in other young men.

One of Wilson’s other idols was Lakers great Magic Johnson, not just because of his ability on the court, but because he went into the game of life and gave back.

Declining an opportunity to play professionally overseas after graduating from Howard, Wilson immediately took the advice of Williamson and went into coaching the year after, getting his opportunity to give back.

Wilson worked as an assistant at Howard for two years before taking his first head coaching job at his alma mater, Frederick Douglass.

Within three years, Wilson led his alma mater to the school’s first State Championship game in 1986. Wilson then left Frederick Douglass to lead Largo High School where he coached for 12 years and led them to the State Championship in 1993, according to the biography posted Capital Classic Web site.

Wilson left Largo to become the head coach at Riverdale Baptist, where he just completed his 10th season as the head man of the Crusaders.

“He’s a player’s coach,” said Andrew Dyer, a friend of Wilson’s for 13 years. “He played at Howard. He’s kind of like a father figure to the guys.”

During his tenure at Riverdale Baptist, Wilson became that father figure for current NBA star Michael Beasley and current Duke standout Nolan Smith.

“It’s just an awesome feeling,” said Wilson who visits with Beasley whenever he comes to town, “It gives me great pleasure to watch them play on TV. There are so many great players that I’ve touched.”

Another player Wilson touched, NBA star Don Reid, recently sent his old coach a postcard telling Wilson that he was getting married.

“I touch a lot of kids’ lives,” said Wilson. “It feels great when you see them coming back or calling you or sending you a card.”

Wilson even said he receives a phone call once a month from a former player who is playing professionally overseas.

“To have that connection after years and years away from that player is a terrific testimony to his manhood,” said Christy Winters Scott, a four-year letter winner at the University of Maryland and a friend of Wilson’s. “I just think that there aren’t enough coaches like him in the basketball world with what he does as a person.”

Away from the basketball court, Wilson is still touching young lives as an auditorium technology teacher at Central High School, where he has been for 29 years.

But basketball is still Wilson’s number one passion. On the court, Wilson, the self-described low-key, mild person away from the court, gets a strong competitive fire.

“When I get on the basketball court,” said Wilson, “When I’m coaching, I get a little excited. The love for the game gets me fired up.”

Wilson’s players feel that competitive drive too. Drummond, who coach would never let get complacent, credits Wilson for making him the player that he is today.

“When I was in 9th grade, coach worked with me,” said Drummond who called himself under-the-radar until he worked with Wilson, “I became the player I am now. He would never let me take no for an answer.”

But if things work out, Dyer said, Wilson could take his coaching success to the next level where a vacancy at Howard could entice the long time high school coach to leave.