By Warren Morrison
Herald Banner staff
03/03/00
COMMERCE - It didn't take long for Steve Bragg to get involved in his new role as the Commerce Independent School District athletic director and head football coach.
Less than 24 hours after being unanimously approved by the CISD Board of Trustees, Bragg had already met with his coaching staff and was viewing game tapes of his new team. Still ahead was a meeting with the boys and girls in the athletic program.
Bragg, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Sunday and officially begins his new administrative post on March 20, is excited and nervous about the move.
"It looks like it is going to be an easy transition," Bragg said, sitting behind his desk in the coaches' office at the high school field house. " A lot of what I believe philosophically is already in place. There is a great work ethic here and a knowledgeable staff."
With Commerce having achieved the pinnacle of success with a state championship in Class 3A football last year, Bragg also wants that achievement to carry over to the other sports in the school district.
"We already have the best football program in the state. What I would like to see is the best overall athletic program in the state Ñ for girls and boys. I want to evaluate all of the programs and build them from the ground up. Every kid who participates should have the opportunity to be successful," he said.
As the athletic director for the Pittsburg Independent School District for the past year, Bragg has overseen a program that is diverse and successful. The high school has already won district championships in boys and girls cross country and football and placed second in volleyball.
Prior to Pittsburg, Bragg coached and taught in Mesquite; first at North Mesquite from 1983 to 1989 and Poteet from 1989 to 1999. At North Mesquite, Bragg was part of a football coaching staff that won three district titles and reached the regional final in 1987 and the head coach of the soccer team that won five consecutive district titles and reached the state tournament, also in 1987.
Moving to Poteet, Bragg carried the winning tradition as the football team that won three district titles and advanced to the state quarterfinals in 1997.
Bragg, who graduated from North Mesquite and received his bachelors degree in physical education from the University of North Texas in 1983 and masters degree in educational administration from East Texas State University (now Texas A&M University-Commerce) in 1991, is also a strong supporter of academics.
"That comes from the expectations my parents had of me. I consider myself to be a good teacher, whether it be on the football field or a classroom. I really think the best coaches are the best teachers and that's what I have heard about the coaches here; how good they are in the classroom," said the winner of a Mesquite teaching excellence award.
"Being a teacher or a coach is being an effective communicator, whether it be with a football skill or a classroom discipline and putting it into terms we all understand. If all we teach is to throw a ball, catch a ball or shoot a ball, then we've failed them."
Bragg said he is honored inheriting the defending state champion and that there will not be many changes made with the gameplan or the current coaching staff. He intends to stay with option game on offense and the 5-0 formation on defense.
"There is a lot of tradition here and I want to keep that tradition going," Bragg said. "It's a program where you don't have to make radical changes. It's a program that's been run the right way."
The new administrator is also excited about moving into a new campus to start the 2000-01 school year.
"We are about to have an unbelievable facility," he said. " There seems to be a great relationship between academics and athletics. When you have the support Commerce has, that means the difference to any program. This is a very unique opportunity for me."
Bragg said he was approached after the school board meeting by several Commerce residents welcoming him to the community. The telephone calls of welcome continued Wednesday and that has already impressed the Dallas native.
"The big thing that really made me feel to be a part of this community is the people. The people have made me feel very welcome," he added. "As someone new coming into the community, I can't tell you how much that means to have that acceptance when you are following someone as popular as Steve Lineweaver."
When not working on the CISD athletic program, Bragg said he will look for a home in Commerce for him and his six-year-old son, Cameron. He is a widower, having lost his wife two years ago to a kidney disease while awaiting for a donor for a transplant.
"There is one thing I can promise (as the athletic director), no one is going to work harder than I am. Nobody is going to have their child's interest higher than I am," Bragg said.