When the Rockdale Tigers’ 2019 season ended last month, RHS seniors weren’t the only ones who were saying good-bye to Friday night football.
Bart Gibbs, RISD’s longest tenured coach in the history of the district, also said farewell after 23 seasons on the sidelines for the blue-and-gold.
The Fort Stockton native came to Central Texas in 1997 after being recruited by then Tiger coach Casey Creghan from Rockport-Fulton.
He told the Reporter in 2016 that he came to Rock-dale to be closer to his wife Laura’s family in Liberty Hill and Austin.
Ever since, Gibbs has been in several positions with Rockdale, ranging from junior high coach to head boy’s track coach at RHS.
“I’ve always won here, so I stayed here,” he said. “I was at the junior high so long and those positions are more stable so I think that enabled me to stay in Rock-dale.”
Gibbs went up to the high school when his son Brandon, now a coach at RHS, went from junior high to high school and also coached his younger son Clayton.
During his one year as head track coach, he won a team state championship.
Gibbs joked that he did all he could to stay out of their way.
Less than two years later, he became a state champion when the Tigers beat Brock 45-28 in the 2017 Class 3A-I state championship.
“That was awesome,” Gibbs said. “Besides getting to coach my own kids, that was the best thing that’s happened in my career.
“A lot of coaches don’t ever get to make it that far. A great way to end a career.”
RHS football coach and athletic director Jeff Miller also had high praise Gibbs.
“He’s the epitome of a great coach and a great person,” Miller said, who worked with him for 13 years.“If you look in the dictionary under great role model, it should be a picture of him.
“Because he’s a great example to kids and as a coach, he’s very dependable and very loyal.”
Although he’s not teaching at the school this year and planned to stop coaching once and for at the end of the football season, he’s not done yet.
Gibbs was asked to help with softball and will be an assistant coach for the Lady Tigers this spring.
“I retired, but I didn’t retire long,” Gibbs said. “Just can’t get away from it.”
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