Wilbur Braithwaite

Wilbur T. Braithwaite (May 24, 1926 – April 12, 2010) was a high school basketball and tennis coach for Manti High School. He was honored with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) award of Merit in 2006, and was selected as an Olympic torch bearer for his city Manti, Utah, on February 5, 2002.

"Coach" was also known as a poet, philosopher, business-owner, musician, composer, and pen-pal. He is believed to have written thousands of uplifting, hand-written letters over his life to people all over the country including coaches John Wooden and Bob Knight.

Personal life and education

Wilbur Braithwaite was born to Charles G. and Eva Tuttle Braithwaite in Manti, Utah, and graduated from Manti High School. During World War II, at the age of 18, he served in Company A of the 253rd Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division in the European Theater of Operations. He was injured by a "Bouncing Betty" landmine and took 11 months to recover.

After he returned home, Braithwaite enrolled at Snow College. He also attended Weber State College, and Utah State University and played basketball and tennis there. Ultimately he earned a master's degree in physical education and counseling from the University of Michigan. He turned down a job offer to be a physical education teacher and tennis coach from Utah State University to work at Manti High School in 1951.

On July 18, 1952, he married Jane Anderson in the Manti Utah Temple. Together they had seven children. Braithwaite was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and one of the most visible and supportive members of the Braithwaite Family Organization. He died in his home in 2010. He provided 40 years of free summer tennis instruction. In 37 years of coaching high school basketball, Braithwaite was never given a technical foul. In 2004, he was inducted into the Utah Tennis Hall of fame,

Philosophy Braithwaite's philosophy appeared in Coach's Quarterly. A poem of his appeared on the front page of The Washington Coach (the official publication of the Washington State Coaches Association) in fall 2002.