A 28-Year Educator Takes the Varsity Sidelines

*Nate Engels*, a lifelong Mattawan educator and father of three Mattawan students, has been named the new head coach of the Mattawan High School varsity boys basketball team. The hiring was confirmed earlier this month by the district.

Engels replaces Josh Brown, who resigned after the 2025-26 season. Brown finished his seven-year tenure with a 69-83 record.

"I’ve got a real good feel for the years of Mattawan basketball," said Engels, 50. "There will be day-to-day things I’ll be learning as a first-year head coach, but I’m at the point in my career where I’m ready for a new challenge. I love this community, I want to give back to it and I feel like coaching is the way to do it."

Deep Roots in Mattawan Schools

Engels has worked in the Mattawan Community Schools for 28 years. He currently serves as the dean of students at Mattawan Middle School. He has lived in the community for 21 years.

His family ties to education run deep. His wife, Karey Engels, has taught in the district for nearly three decades. Their three sons, Owen, Jaxon, and Quinn, have attended Mattawan schools. Owen and Jaxon are graduates. Quinn will enter his sophomore year this fall.

Engels is a 1993 graduate of Parchment High School. He earned his undergraduate degree in elementary education from Grand Valley State University and a master’s in educational leadership from Western Michigan University.

Coaching Legacy and Family Influence

Coaching is part of Engels’ heritage. He credited his grandfather, Carl Engels, as a major influence. Carl Engels was a Hall of Fame coach for both basketball and tennis.

"My grandfather, Carl Engels, I spent a lot of time with him and he was a Hall of Fame coach for both basketball and tennis," Engels said. "He not only inspired me but I also have a ton of family members that are educators. My grandfather was a coach through and through and that definitely rubbed off on me."

Engels began coaching middle school basketball in Mattawan about 25 years ago. He has accumulated 14 years of coaching experience within the Mattawan program. He also coached his sons in youth basketball.

He has observed the varsity program under former coaches Dan Hoff, Ward Helakoski, and Josh Brown.

Building a New Identity

Mattawan basketball has seen success in recent years. The team posted back-to-back winning seasons in 2023 and 2024. In 2019, the Wildcats had an undefeated regular season, won a conference championship, and captured a district title.

Engels plans to build a culture focused on accountability, teamwork, and competitiveness. He emphasizes defense as a core identity for the team.

"We’re going to be a mentally strong team that’s gonna compete really hard every single time we’re out there," Engels said. "We want to have an identity of toughness and I think that comes from defense. We don’t want to be a team that sits and prevents, we want to be able to take it to teams."

He described three key energies for his coaching philosophy: positive energy, team-first energy, and competitive energy.

"When we talk about coaching, there’s three different energies that we refer to: positive energy, team-first energy and competitive energy," he said. "Those all have components to them and when one is done at a high level, it’s great. But when all three happen, it’s fantastic in the things you can accomplish."

More Than Wins and Losses

Engels views coaching as a tool for character development. He wants student-athletes to create lasting positive memories of their high school experience.

"I just look at this opportunity as a vessel for kids to become better people and to learn about life," he said. "I want them to come through here and have an experience they can think back on and have a lot of fond memories. I want them to reminisce about things and feel really proud to be part of what we do here."

Engels will make his coaching debut on November 30 against Paw Paw at home.