Some of his first memories take place in the front yard, throwing a football. He eventually joined a football team in 5th grade and then went on to play for Texas Christian University. Now, he helps young men reach their goals on the field.

Head football coach Brian Brazil has been coaching at Hebron since its opening, and achieved 150 wins on Oct. 8 after the team’s win against Plano West on Oct. 29. 

“I loved playing all sports when I was growing up, but I think the thing I like the most about football is that it’s the ultimate team sport,” Brian said. “In football, [there are] so many different facets of the game. You can bring people with all different types of skill sets [together while] working for a common goal.”

Both of Brian’s parents worked in education: his mom was a kindergarten teacher and his dad was an administrator. Brian said education seemed like a natural fit for him because of his parents’ careers.

“I had a high school coach [who] really knew how to inspire me, a guy that really seemed to know how to get the best out of me, and he just made me better than I thought I could be,” Brian said. “I just felt like ‘man, what a way to spend your life, being able to work with kids and being able to help them achieve dreams.’”

Defensive coordinator Eric Mach has worked with Brian at Hebron since the fall of 2002. 

“[One of] the best things I’ve learned from Brazil, not even football related, [is] just how to be a good man and doing things the right way,” Mach said. “He’s not the kind of guy who’s going to compromise his morals or ethics, he’s going to do things right and he’s going to insist that the coaches that he’s hired [do the right thing as well].”

Brazil’s wife, Roberta Brazil, worked at Hebron from 2004-2010, returning in 2013, and has been teaching ESL English since then. Roberta said Brian will leave a legacy based on integrity and toughness.  

“I think [Brian] is compassionate and genuinely cares about the athletes [in the] long term,” Roberta said. “I think [people will recognize] that he’s built a program that is [focused] on doing things the right way — [with] integrity and toughness.”

The football program’s core values for this year are class, toughness and discipline. Brian tries to teach these values to the athletes and believes that these skills will help them later on in life.

“Everything you do in high school, whether you are in fine arts, or whatever extracurricular activity or classroom, you want to learn,” Brian said. “It’s all a part of the educational process: learning things that will help you in life. Those are things that we hope we are always teaching and trying to strive for. It’s a big part of what I hope kids take away from the program.”