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Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. Westwood High School's Athletic Director Matt Gillis (center), is retiring this June after 13 years in the position.
6-12-2025 12:18am
After 13 Years as WHS Athletic Director, Matt Gillis is Retiring
Darlene Cancell
Editor
By Darcie Fisher for Westwood Public Schools
Monday, June 16th doesn’t just mark the last day of school for students – it’s also the last day of a storied career for Westwood High School (WHS) Athletic Director (AD) Matt Gillis. He’s spent the last 33 years working in the school district, starting his career as a physical education and health teacher at Thurston Middle School (TMS). But if you ask him, Gillis will tell you that a career teaching and coaching wasn’t what he originally planned.
“I went to Blue Hills [Regional Technical High School] and I learned to cook,” said Gillis. “I thought I wanted to be a chef. But when college decision time came around senior year, I realized that wasn’t the lifestyle I wanted.”
Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. Athletic Director Matt Gillis wears Westwood green.Gillis started taking classes at Mass Bay Community College and then transferred to Bridgewater State College, where he says physical education and teaching drew him in. “I remember going home and talking to my mother about being a gym teacher, and she said, ‘I knew it.’ I was always drawn to being active. This was my calling after all.”
Gillis says the teachers and staff he first worked with at TMS were incredibly welcoming. While there, he would return to Bridgewater State to earn a master’s degree in educational leadership. “I thought my dream job was to be a middle school assistant principal,” said Gillis. “But then I moved up to the high school, and this position opened up. I was always involved in coaching and thoroughly enjoyed seeing students excel outside the classroom. While my aspirations had been to be an administrator, being AD meant I could [do it] in the sports world.”
Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. Matt Gillis appreciated the opportunity to be an administrator in the sports world, as Westwood High School athletic director.It's been 13 years since Gillis stepped into the AD role. Over time, he’s seen countless WHS teams make the playoffs and several win state championships. When asked to name teams that stood out for him, he fondly recalled the 2011 WHS golf team that competed for a state championship, and the WHS girls’ lacrosse program, which he saw grow from a club sport to a league powerhouse. “Our girls and boys hockey teams won state championships in 2014 and 2015,” said Gillis. “It was really cool to be at the Boston Garden and watch those.”
Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. Athletic Director Matt Gillis is a supportive presence on the sidelines for Westwood athletes.He’s also proud of the reputation WHS has earned for developing student-athletes. “That concept is really special here,” said Gillis, “Our students excel in the classroom and in whatever sport they’re playing. And to watch them and see how well they fare in the state tournament is fun. It’s one of those legacy things. It’s just how we do it.”
Matt’s wife is an elementary school physical education teacher in Dover who will retire next year. He anticipates the pair will do “a little traveling,” but will take some time to figure out retirement. Most of all, Gillis says, he will miss the relationships he’s built with the coaches and student athletes. That said, don’t be surprised if you see Gillis on the sidelines at WHS watching his favorite high school teams compete.
Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. Matt Gillis (center) is retiring from his position of athletic director for Westwood High School in June 2025.“It’s been an unbelievable ride,” said Gillis. “The grass was never greener. I spent 33 years in one place and never thought of leaving. It’s been a blessing.”
