Willie Wyatt was born in Birmingham, AL on September 28, 1967. He attended Gardendale High, where his wrestling and football careers began, and where he met his wife of 23 years, Annette. Willie competed in three AHSAA State Tournaments finishing 3rd as a freshman and taking the state title as a junior and senior. Willie graduated from Gardendale in 1986, and was offered several scholarships, including one from the University of Tennessee for wrestling and football, and the one he ultimately accepted from the University of Alabama for football. After his senior year in football, Willie played one season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He then left the NFL to pursue a career in World League Football. Willie finished his football career playing Arena Football with the Tampa Bay Storm. Willie then turned his life pursuit to coaching. He began his coaching career at Holt High in 1992, after which, he went on to coach at Gardendale, Hueytown, Minor, and Spain Park, before finally returning home to Gardendale in 2014. This offer met a personal goal to be close to his children (daughter, Ambrianne, who is now 18, and twin boys, Kennedy and Keenan, who are 12) and have an active role in their lives as they grow older. In 2014, Willie began experiencing symptoms that prompted him to seek answers from his doctor. Willie underwent a CT scan that showed what doctors suspected to be mass in his brain that would require surgery. The doctors began to prepare Willie and Annette by explaining their plan for treatment and the associated risks, which included possible cognitive and physical deficits after surgery. Willie and Annette decided to proceed, leaning heavily on their faith in God's plan for them. Willie's surgery was a success in that the doctors were able to get a look at the mass and determine it was not a tumor, but was the result of an infection. This led Willie, his doctors, and Annette on a two-year journey that involved various tests, physical set-backs, including seizures, and many hospitalizations to finally determine that the disease he was battling was Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Throughout these challenges, with God's help and the support of his family, Willie maintained a can-do attitude. Having this mindset, Willie has learned to manage his challenges, and continues to coach at Gardendale to this day. "It is important to be there for those kids...they have to know that someone really cares about them," he says.