Meet the Coaches

Matt Nalette

Head Coach

Now in his 7th year as Head Football Coach at Thunderbird High School, Coach Matt Nalette brings over a decade of coaching experience and a lifelong passion for the game. He joined the Thunderbird coaching staff in 2010 as an assistant after serving as an assistant coach at Greenway High School from 2007 to 2009. A proud graduate of Greenway—where he was honored as one of the top 50 football players in the school’s first 50 years—Coach Nalette continued his playing career at Glendale Community College, as a member of the 2000 NJCAA National Championship team and later played at Western Colorado Universi.

Coach Nalette holds a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from Western Colorado University and a master’s degree in Secondary Education from Grand Canyon University. In addition to coaching football, he is an assistant track coach and teaches Boys Physical Education and Systematic Conditioning at Thunderbird, where he is dedicated to helping student-athletes succeed both on the field and in life.

Andy Wilberscheid

Defensive Coordinator

The name Wilberscheid can be difficult to pronounce, and the player Andrew Wilberscheid was even more difficult on his opponents. As a standout two-way player at Greenway High School, Coach Wilberscheid earned First Team All-Region honors as a linebacker. Then, transitioning from the gridiron to the mat, he was also a Region champion as a wrestler.

Wilberscheid continued at Glendale Community College where he played outside linebacker. When his playing days were done, he finished his education at Arizona State University where he earned a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. Never one to settle for good enough, he later returned to earn an MBA at Grand Canyon University's Colangelo College Of Business.

With this combination of classroom knowledge and football IQ, Coach "Wilby" has coached for 17 years in total including roles at 6A Sandra Day O'Connor (Varsity Defensive Line), Greenway (Junior Varsity Defensive Coordinator) and Thunderbird, where he is in his tenth year.

Coach Wilby sums up his drive to coach by noting that he is simply giving back to the sport that gave him so much. As he describes it, he craves, "The constant challenge of trying to crack the code and chasing that ever elusive championship."

Daryl Little

Assistant Coach, Defensive Line & Fr/So Head Coach

Football gurus use a lot of their own special vocabulary. When it comes to the defensive line, one common phrase is about a player having a "strong motor." And at Thunderbird High School, it is Coach Daryl Little who tunes the motors of the defensive line group, working to develop them into high-performing machines.

It is a job where he has some first-hand experience, having been a First Team All-Region Defensive Tackle and Offensive Lineman himself as a player at Washington High School in Phoenix.

After his days as a Washington Ram were over, Coach Little went into the education field, eventually earning a Master's in Special Education from Grand Canyon University. When he isn't working with Thunderbird students on the field, he is working with them in the classroom as a Special Education teacher.

Coach Little is in his 11th year at Thunderbird. Prior to that, he coached at Washington for eight years and one year at Greenway.

Over this nearly two decades of coaching experience, Coach Little says it all boils down to the bonds and relationships.

Jonathan "Jaws" Jaworski

Assistant Coach, Wide Receivers

Coming Soon

David Camps

Assistant Coach, Defensive Backs

A high school athlete's career lasts only four short years, and some students make the most of every minute of it. David Camps was one of those athletes. At Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, Coach Camps played quarterback, running back, receiver, kick returner and punt returner. His achievements not only earned him an All-Region Leadership Award, but also helped him earn the title of, "Most Likely to Succeed." However, he didn't stop there. In addition to football, he played basketball where he was a two-time Sixth Man of the Year. Finally, he ran track where he was a state qualifier on the relay team all four years.

His athletic ability helped him continue with football at the collegiate level where he played cornerback for the University of Central Oklahoma, where he earned a degree in Political Science/Pre-Law.

Now in his fifth season coaching at Thunderbird, Coach Camps brings positivity and enthusiasm to his role. Responding to what he likes most about coaching, he says, "I love helping players believe in themselves and accomplish more than they ever thought they could."

In addition, he finds himself drawing on wisdom from his own football coach back at Lake Highlands, who encouraged players to take ownership, telling them, "Figure it out … it's not hard, just football."

When he's not watching film to help the Titans, he's watching a film about the Titans, specifically the 1971 T.C. Williams High School Titans from Alexandria, Virginia who were memorialized in the movie, "Remember the Titans."

George Medrano

Assistant Coach, Offensive Line

It's often said that football is a game of inches, and Coach Medrano coaches the offensive line group to turn inches into yards that then become first downs and touchdowns.

Now in his fourth decade (not a typo) of coaching football, Coach Medrano's resume includes stops at Alhambra High School (Head Coach), Cesar Chavez High School (now renamed Cactus Canyon High School; Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line), and Miami High School (Head Coach and Athletic Director).

When asked what continues to draw him to coaching, Medrano sums it up by saying, "Competing of course. Working with young men and good coaches is the best part."

Coach Medrano goes on to share that his favorite quote about coaching is also a good approach to life in general: "Opportunity is the most important word in the English language."

Other than a Titans win, a good night for Coach Medrano is wings on the menu and "Friday Night Lights" on the TV.

Coach Medrano is a product of Mesa High School, where he played running back, linebacker and strong safety. He then received an Education degree from Arizona State University.

Andy Wittenwyler

Assistant Coach, Quarterbacks

For Andy Wittenwyler, the biggest adjustment to coaching at Thunderbird is being on the sidelines as opposed to on the field. During his time as a Titan student-athlete, Wittenwyler was an All-Region football player who set records for passing yards, completions and touchdowns–achievements which earned him an induction into the National Football Foundation Valley Of The Sun Chapter.

A 2018 graduate of Thunderbird, Coach "Witt" was also a Varsity Basketball Captain, a State Qualifier in Javelin and a State Finalist in Shot Put.

With his playing days behind him, Witt has returned to coach at the school where his father, Brent Wittenwyler, was once the Head Football Coach. In fact, Andy's favorite quote on coaching is one he attributes to his dad: "Find a reason to be there, not an excuse to miss."

Despite his achievements in football, basketball and track, Coach Witt's favorite sports movie is actually about hockey. He says the film "Miracle" illustrates some of the magic of sports, especially the relationships and brotherhood.

Post-game, you'll find Coach Witt at Valle Luna, building relationships and brotherhood with his fellow coaches.

Kent Lavine

Assistant Coach, Running Backs

At Trevor Browne High School in the southwest corner of the city, Kent Lavine was the school's go-to guy on the football field, on the basketball court and on the baseball diamond. In fact, Kent Lavine was an All-State player in all three sports, but football was his biggest passion. It was in football where the do-it-all Lavine played receiver, safety, quarterback and even punter.

After finishing at Trevor Browne, Lavine continued playing football at Phoenix College and then moved on to Arizona State University, where he earned a degree in Criminal Justice.

After graduating college, former football player Kent Lavine became football Coach Kent Lavine where he coached on both sides of the ball. Before Thunderbird, he coached at Independence High School (Defensive Coordinator), Bourgade Catholic High School (Offensive Coordinator), and most notably at Centennial High School where he was Co-Offensive Coordinator and Run Game Coordinator for a squad that won four state championships.

Having coached for the better part of 38 years, Coach Lavine likens coaching to teaching. At Thunderbird, he coaches and teaches the running backs the game in his unique style.

Ask him about his favorite sports movie of all time and Coach Lavine will tell you it is the 1986 classic, "Hoosiers," which goes to show that, even when he's off the clock, Coach Lavine is still pulling for the underdog.

Chris Francis

Fr/So Coach

Part of what it takes to build pride in a high school athletics program is people who are invested in that program. Chris Francis is one such person.

His passion for Thunderbird goes back to his own days as a Thunderbird student-athlete, where he played defensive back for the football team. Now in his 19th year as a Thunderbird coach, Francis has coached not only football, but also baseball, track and volleyball. Keeping things in the same neighborhood, he also coached basketball and volleyball at Mountain Sky Junior High.

What Coach Francis says he enjoys most is being with the athletes and helping them to reach their potential both athletically and in the classroom.

When he is not developing players, Coach Francis is developing his own coaching acumen, partially by reading books about coaches. Two of his favorites are "When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi" by David Maraniss and "Win Forever: Live, Work and Play Like A Champion" by Pete Carroll. Going from the printed page to the screen, Francis names "Brian's Song" as a favorite inspirational sports movie.

Jim Azevedo

Fr/So Coach

Bio coming soon.

Todd Ahern

Fr/So Coach

Bio coming soon.