In this week’s ITG Next Georgia “4 Questions With the Coach” spotlight, we catch up with Milton player development coach Gary “Coach Sly” Sylvestri. Coach Sly previously served as the athletic director for Milton High School for 11 years. He recently announced his retirement from that position, but he still works closely with the football program as an assistant coach on head coach Ben Reaves’ staff.
ITG Next is proud to have Coach Sly involved with our operation as well. He hosts the “Behind the Bench with Coach Sly” podcast twice monthly, speaking with guests from all areas of the high school sports world, including coaches, players, administrators, and many more personalities who are or have been involved with Georgia high school sports. Coach Sly joins us here to talk about his Milton career, as well as an exciting stint in law enforcement before he entered the safer environment of high school athletics.
Q. Coach Sly, I mentioned that you have just left the day-to-day responsibilities of AD at Milton High School, but you are staying very active with the Eagles athletics program. What exactly are you involved with now that you have formally retired?
A. It is an honor to be a part of your “4 Questions with the Coach.” I am mostly working behind the scenes as player development coach, even though I am on the sidelines on game nights. Some people refer to me as “the Fireman;” my job on game night is to keep players and coaches relatively calm. Anyone who knows me, knows that this is a new realm for me, since I am usually the fiery one.
I also set up speakers and help with leadership development, and I am involved in the new NIL compliance. It’s a blessing to be able to share the sidelines with my son Vinny, who is the running backs coach and special teams coordinator, and to help my wife, Alisha, who is the director of football operations.
Q. I teased parts of your past life in the above introduction, including your time in law enforcement. Can you talk about that, as well as the path into athletics that brought you to Milton High School as the athletic director?
A. I was a law enforcement officer in South Florida for 21 years. I served on road patrol, undercover narcotics, organized crime, homicide, major crimes, gangs, SWAT, internal affairs, and K9. During most of my police career, I also coached football at numerous schools down there. A few of the schools were Boyd Anderson, Stranahan and Plantation, among others.
After my fourth knee surgery and repaired shoulder, I decided to retire and go into education full-time. My family and I had an opportunity to come to Georgia and open West Forsyth High School, where I started the criminal justice program, was the assistant head football coach and assistant AD, and served as the FCA Leader. I finished my graduate work during this time at Georgia State University. After three years at West Forsyth, I had the opportunity to come to Milton, where I taught special education and was the running backs coach. In 2012 I became the AD, and the rest is history!
Q. Coach Sly, you oversaw one of the state’s most successful athletic programs at Milton. While most people are drawn to the football side of things – and for good reason, as the Eagles won a state title under your watch as AD – but there were, and still are, other championship programs at Milton. The Lacrosse program there is nationally renowned, as is the basketball program, just to name a couple. You had a lot of hats to wear, with many tasks to juggle each day while overseeing the athletic department at Milton, right?
A. I was blessed to oversee 24 varsity sports, each of them successful. During my time as AD, we won 21 state championships and had 10 state runner-up finishes in various sports, along with numerous region championships. I am very proud those included girls and boys programs. Along with my AD duties, I also oversaw busses, parking, custodians, facilities, and clubs. I always say AD stands for All Day, After Dark, All Duties!
Q. Our last question has two parts: 1) Besides your part-time work at Milton, you are working with us here at ITG Next by hosting a podcast, Behind the Bench with Coach Sly, which we are absolutely thrilled to have you on. Is podcasting something you had been wanting to do for some time, and how are things going with it so far? 2) What are your future plans other than the podcast? I do not really see you as a guy that is going to slow down anytime soon!
A. 1) My cousin, Frank Branca, always told me that I should do a podcast when I retire from the AD world. ITG Next was gracious enough to help me start my podcast career. Having you as a mentor has been huge in directing and guiding me in this process. The Behind the Bench idea came from knowing the thought process of the game within the game. We try to pull back the curtain on different topics that relate to Georgia athletics. I also want to be able to celebrate other people’s careers and accomplishments. The cast is doing well as we’re seven episodes into it!
2) I am involved with Milton Football, I love growing the podcast, and I am working with Leaf and Limb Tree Company as a sales rep and volunteering at my church! I love being outside and meeting people, so all these things I am doing are right up my alley. I would be remiss to say my number-one thing is being able to spend more time with my wife and family now that I am not working 80 hours a week!
