After 24 years as head basketball coach for the Lady Bulldogs, Coach Bradley Dickerson is stepping off the court.
Dickerson was born into educ at ion and coachi ng—his father, and biggest inf luence, Gordon, was also a coach and many other family members have been teachers.
A graduate of Thrall High School in 1991, he went on to attend the University of Mary Hardin- Baylor in Belton.
His first year out of college, he was hired by Holland High School and took the unusual step of becoming a head coach immediately. Though he’ll admit he wasn’t quite sure what he was doing yet.
He came to Thorndale in the 1998-99 school year as head volleyball coach and assistant boys’ basketball coach. After one year, he took over the head coaching position for the girls’ basketball team and has never looked back.
Coach Dickerson has enjoyed an extremely successful career, leading the team to 538 wins with an overall winning percentage of 71.9 percent. During that span, Thorndale won 13 district titles, went to multiple regional finals and one state semi-final. They suffered only three losing seasons and for one 5-year span were undefeated in district with a win-loss record of 54-0.
While he has had a few opportunities to go to other schools over the years, Coach Dickerson is embedded in Thorndale. Both of his parents and all four of his grandparents are graduates of THS and his family has lived in the area for generations.
He is a humble man with a great sense of family, education and community. When asked what it is about this little Central Texas town that keeps him here he simply said, “We’re going to be competitive and it’s because of the community. It’s just what it’s about. The support is there, they support the coaches and they support their kids.”
Coach Dickerson went on to say, “The kids here just have a hard-working, winning mentality. It’s not that hard to coach in places like that.”
Plus, “I’m still learning every day.”
While stepping down from the girls’ high school team, he will stay on as the girls’ athletic director, a role he has filled for about 20 of his 25 years at Thorndale. He will also continue to coach the girls’ junior high basketball team, all levels of cross country, and be an assistant track coach.
He had the privilege of coaching his two daughters, which he clearly appreciates, to hear him talk about it. However, he never coached his son and now he wants to watch him play every game of his senior year.
Dickerson also stresses that the time is right for Assistant Coach Doug Franklin to take over the program.
You may not see Coach Dickerson on the sidelines at the high school girls’ games anymore, but his indelible impression on the athletic program will be felt for many years to come.
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