Matson memorial filled with love, laughter

YORBA LINDA - Tony Matson made an impact on a lot of lives in Orange County.

Nearly 3,000 friends, family members, neighbors, former players and many from the county basketball community filled Rose Drive Friends Church and two overflow video rooms on Monday afternoon to pay tribute to the former Orange Lutheran girls basketball coach at a memorial service.

The service was emotional and gut-wrenching at times and hilarious at others as Matson's friends shared their favorite memories and told stories about the popular coach.

Matson, 44, of Yorba Linda, collapsed at his construction job in Corona on April 24 and died after being transported to Corona Regional Hospital. Matson is survived by his wife of 22 years, Heidi, and their three children: Rachael, Brittany and Jessica.

Matson's friends talked about what a great family man he was, his love for God, and his dedication to his players.

Matson was an assistant coach to Jeff Sink at Brea Olinda from 1995-99, helping the Ladycats win five consecutive CIF-SS titles and back-to-back state championships from 1998-99.

"On a serious note, the highest praise that I can heap upon a man who deserves everything is," said Sink, "if I had a daughter and she was going to play basketball, she wouldn't play for me, she would play for Tony."

Matson was the head coach at Orange Lutheran from 2000-09, leading the Lancers to five league championships and a record of 197-75. He was named The Register's Girls Basketball Coach of the Year this past season after guiding the Lancers to the CIF-SS Division IV-AA finals, the school's first appearance in the finals since 1981.

Matson loved to spend time with his family and following his daughters in the sports they competed in. He was into surfing, boating and dirt-bike riding. He played in men's basketball leagues and was a prolific scorer.

"Anybody that knew Tony knew that when he played basketball he did not like to call fouls," said Mark Murphy, a friend of Matson's for 23 years. "He would rely on you to call fouls. He would let you determine how physical the game was going to be.

"Shortly after I started playing with Tony I realized quickly I was not anywhere near as good as Tony was. I basically clutched, grabbed, kicked, scratched, held on ... and he wouldn't call a foul. But what I was doing was escalating his intensity and physicality of play.

"To make a long story short, you did not want to be on the receiving end of a Tony Matson charge.

"That's when I figured it would be much better to play with Tony than against Tony. We quickly became friends and started playing in church leagues, rec leagues, 3-on-3 leagues, anywhere we could play together. We played ball together. We had a great time.

"We could spend hours talking about nothing and we could spend weeks never communicating at all, but we both knew that the other one was always there for the other. I could share anything with Tony without fear of judgment or criticism and with his wise and sincere counsel. When my father died, Tony was there for me. He knew when to talk, he knew when to give me space and he knew when to drag me to the gym and burn off some frustration. Heidi used to call us Lucy and Ethel. I'm not sure I liked being called Ethel."

Matson's friends said he had a great personality and sense of humor.

"A lot of times for me it would start at 6:15 in the morning on my way to work," Mark Stichter said. "I'd be minding my own business thinking what I had to do at work and the phone would ring. I looked down and it would be Tony. I would answer and he would say, 'Dude, what's up?' He said dude more than me, actually.

"He'd say, 'I watched 'Cops' last night and here's what I would have done ...' I would think, I know now I'm entering Tony's world. It might seem odd to you that kind of conversation, but for me, I'm in law enforcement, so I have to sit here and listen to what Tony has to say about some cop issue that he watched last night on 'Cops.' He'd say, 'Why didn't they do the following?' and I'd say, 'Probably because it's illegal.' "

Veronica Beavor, who played for Matson at Orange Lutheran from 2004-08, said she was a little intimidated when she walked into the gym to meet Matson, a tall and strongly built man. But that quickly faded as she found out what a caring and big-hearted person Matson was.

"His physical nature was soon discovered to be a front, because he was a great man who cared for each of us as if we were his daughters," Beavor said. "It quickly became evident that we had a strong coach-player connection on the court. We were always on the same page. Without saying anything, we knew what the other one was thinking. This is my first and probably last time I will experience this type of connection with a coach. The passion and desire we held for the game goes far beyond an average athlete's aspirations.

"We always saw this need for basketball as a good thing. Basketball ran through our veins. Coach Matson's passion for coaching was always evident even when making us do suicides for what seemed like ever."

The Matsons' pastor read a statement by Tony's wife, Heidi.

"Our family must learn to live with indescribable ache of Tony's absence as we try to find a new normal," Heidi said in the statement. "I ask you not to forget us. Those of you who knew Tony well, knew he hated to be the center of attention unless, of course, he was on the court as a player in a basketball game. So this kind of celebration today really wouldn't have been his style. But he was also very accepting of my needs and thus would be happy that you all were here, supporting the family he was devoted to."

Contact the writer: carias@ocregister.com