When practices start next week, the Gold-Burg Bears’ football team will be led by a new face.
Brady Hibbitts comes to Gold-Burg after two years at Perrin-Whitt serving as an assistant. Before that he spent two years heading his alma-mater Woodson and one year serving as an assistant.
He got an up close look at the turnaround the Bears have had the past two seasons with the Pirates opening their season against Gold-Burg. Coming off the two best seasons in school history with a young core and good numbers expected to return, it was easy to see the appeal for Hibbitts.
“What Coach (Joe) Helms built with this group the past two years has been great and I think I can do a good job of keeping that going in my own way,” Hibbitts said.
After playing many sports at Woodson High School before graduating in 2013, Hibbitts played two years of football at Howard Payne University before transferring to Tarleton State University to get his bachelor degree.
His wife Haley teaches at Northwest and their daughter Haddy is six months old.
Hibbitts believes in an approach that will value the athletes as people first before they step onto the field or court.
“The relationship aspect and love aspect of it,” Hibbitts said. “A lot of these kids need that role model figure in their life. You can tell that a lot of these kids seek that out and I feel like that is really my strong suit. Being able to relate to these kids coming from a small school myself and just being able to commit my time and showing these guys outside of sports, showing them that relationship side of things.”
As the athletic director, Hibbitts wants to bring that type of level to all of the sports programs with the motto acronym F.A.M.I.L.Y.
“It stands for forget about me, I love you,” Hibbitts said. “Everybody is going to experience it first hand, it is about being selfless, putting other people before myself. That is really what I am going to try to do this year is put these kids, this community, before myself. That is what I am going to try and teach these players.”

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.