Windle taking Boyne City AD job

Jun. 25—BOYNE CITY — Matt Windle was a varsity basketball coach before he graduated from college.

Now he's coming to Boyne City with another degree.

Windle took Plymouth Christian Academy's boys basketball head coach position while still in school working on his bachelor's degree in sports management at Eastern Michigan University. He just finished up his masters degree in athletics administration at Concordia Irvine last week, just before embarking on a new chapter.

Windle officially takes over as athletic director at Boyne City on July 1 after former AD Adam Stefanski accepted a promotion to high school principal.

"Matt will do a terrific job," Stefanski said. "He comes with experience and a growth mindset."

Stefanski said he also liked Windle's coaching experience that'll help him work alongside the Ramblers' coaching staff.

Stefanski said Windle came into both rounds of interviews with a clear vision and was prepared.

"It's a job that takes a lot of initiative, and he has that," Stefanski said.

Windle officially starts July 1, although he'll be in Boyne City on Monday to meet coaches and the board of education.

"I love to community support," Windle said. "I did a lot of research before interviewing. Just the 'Boyne Tough' mentality is great."

Windle coached the Plymouth Christian to a 109-74 record in eight seasons, including six district championships. Plymouth Christian won the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference title in 2022-23 and placed in the top three in five of his eight seasons there.

Windle's wife Chelsea's family has a home on Horton Bay.

"We've known Horton Bay and Boyne City all our lives," Windle said. "The pace of life up here is awesome. It's a great place to raise a family."

Windle has two sons, Grayson, 4, and Leland, 2.

Boyne City principal Karen Jarema retired after 32 years with the school, including the last 22 as principal. Stefanski moved up to her position.

Boyne has new basketball coaches next school year in Rob Jensen for boys and Mike Wilson for girls.

Jensen, a Boyne native, was an assistant the last two seasons under Randy Calcaterra, who stepped down after three years as head coach to be able to watch his sons Alex and Pete play at Michigan Tech.

Wilson, a Harbor Springs native who played and later coached as an assistant at Indiana Wesleyan, led Alanson from 2003-06, coached high school ball in Indiana and started the Northern Michigan Elite travel team. Stefanski stepped down as girls basketball coach as well.

The Ramblers also head into a new league, the Northern Shores Conference, in 2024. The new conference features all of the former Lake Michigan Conference, minus Traverse City St. Francis and East Jordan, and also includes Kingsley and Cheboygan.

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