Coach Matt Small is an educator and wrestling coach at Great Bridge High School.
Coach Small grew up in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake where he was an all-star wrestler at Great Bridge High for hall-of-fame Coach Steve Martin. Upon graduation in 1996, Coach Small continued his higher education at Gloucester County Junior College in New Jersey where he was the Mid-Atlantic Zone Conference Champion and a Junior College National Qualifier at 197 lbs. and also an Academic All-American. Matt also attended Old Dominion University earning a degree in criminal justice with a minor in special education. He has continued his education by obtaining his Master’s degree in special education in 2014 from Cambridge College and his educational leadership endorsement from Longwood University last year.
Coach Small began his teaching and coaching career in Chesapeake in 2003 at Great Bridge HS. In 2007, he transferred to Grassfield HS teaching special education and becoming the school’s first wrestling coach.
In 2009, Coach Small was named the head wrestling coach at Cox HS where he led the falcons to the VHSL state championship that season. The following year at Cox his team finished second at the state tournament. Both squads were nationally ranked.
Coach Small then returned to Great Bridge HS in 2011 and has been a fixture for almost a decade teaching the art of wrestling to its student-athletes in his unique manner that has produced 204 varsity wins over his career. His teams have won nine District/Conference titles and six regional championships. Along with his 2010 state championship at Cox, Coach Small has led the wildcats to VHSL state titles in 2017 and 2019.
Coach Small was named the VA Wrestling Associations assistant coach-of-the-year in 2006 and the Beach District Coach-of-the-Year in 2010 and 2011. Additionally, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall-of-Fame VA chapter for the eastern region in 2011. Coach Small has coached 16 wrestlers to 21 individual state titles. He has also coached seven high school All-Americans.
Coach Matt Small is being honored as the 2019 Chesapeake Sports Club Coach of the Year for his outstanding teaching, coaching and mentoring skills he displayed during his 2019 state championship wrestling season and his career. Congratulations Coach Small.