‘It’s only fitting’: Brad Bickett, Craig Johnson come in together, go out together

MANLIUS – In 1990, two young teachers came to Western High School in Buda as complete strangers.

Brad Bickett was the well-known area name, hired by principal Larry Marsh, who was at Ohio High School when Bickett starred on the Bulldogs’ 1986 state runner-up basketball team.

Craig Johnson came to Western from Greene, Iowa, hired only six days before the start of the 1990-91 school year. He only intended to stay for one year, looking to head back to his native Hawkeye state.

They not only stayed together throughout the final years of Western High School, forming a lasting bond that took them through the first 29 years of Bureau Valley High School’s existence.

They both have retired after 34 years as coworkers.

They say it’s only fitting they go out together, since they also came in together.

“It’s kind of neat,” Bickett said. “Five years ago, we started talking about, ‘Hey this is approaching quickly.’ Last four years have been a blast. This last go-around together. It’s only fitting.”

“The odds of starting and ending together, is pretty rare,” Johnson said. “I think it’s pretty cool to teach every single year together. Pretty rare thing. You may teach with someone for a long time. But to start and retire with someone arguably one of your No. 2 or No. 3 best friends, I think both of us think that’s pretty special.

“I was planning only being down here for one year. Only reason I came was because I didn’t have a job. Met (my future wife) Anne and that changed the dynamics a little bit.”

‘We just clicked’

The two young teachers quickly found they had a lot in common, both passionate in sports with Bickett entwined with basketball and Johnson more into baseball and football.

They were young and single and spent a lot of time together away from school.

“Our personalties just clicked. It was a great relationship we developed right away,” Bickett said. “We were young back then, so we spent a lot of time together. He’s an energetic guy, passionate. I just thought it was a perfect fit for us to coach together. We both work really hard. We care about the kids. We coach the kids hard. I just think we shared similar philosophy on things and it worked. It was successful.”

“We got along really well,” Johnson said. “Things happen for a reason. Right time, right fit. I didn’t even know where the place was I interviewed at. He was from around here. We were both young single guys. For most of five years, besides track season, we rode together (to work) because we coached basketball and football together. I’d go out to the farm once in awhile for supper with his mom and dad.”

While Johnson says they would agree that Bureau Valley was the best thing to happen for the Buda and Sheffield communities, Western High School was the perfect storm for the two of them, coaching together in football under the tutelage of head coach Terry Gutshall, as well as basketball.

“Being at Western, a small school, kind of a unique set,” Johnson said. “I was kind of a baseball-football coach. He kind of taught me the ropes in basketball. We had a good group of kids the first couple years.”

“The administration and parents were great. We’d go over to their house to celebrate the big wins and of course we talked about the losses,” Bickett said. “Nowadays, you just don’t know if you have that close, family-like relationship. That’s what made it so special probably for Craig and I. That group of people over there at Buda Western really welcomed us. All of them, Buda and Sheffield. It was neat to experience that. We were very fortunate.”

And the young teachers were a bit spoiled when it came to the ladies in the kitchen.

“They knew I was single. Mary Jo Rosenow and Gina Atkinson would sometimes give me food for the weekend,” Johnson said. “When we had a basketball game and they knew we were staying after school, they’d tell us, ‘There’s something for you in the kitchen.’ ”

A Storm is brewing

In the fall of 1995, Western closed her doors to join the consolidation of Bureau Valley along with Manlius, Walnut and Wyanet.

Bickett took over as BV’s basketball coach, building the Storm into a state power. He also teamed up with Johnson as sophomore coaches for the Storm football, laying the foundations for gridiron success to come, capped by a 9-0 season in 1999.

“I remember Bick walked off the field after beating St. Bede in 1999 and saying he was done. You can’t beat that for your last game,” Johnson said.

Although Johnson wasn’t officially a coach during the Storm’s run to three straight Class A State finishes in basketball, he made an impact in many ways as Bickett’s right-hand man when it came to scouting.

“He was huge. If he wasn’t in the gym coaching the guys up, he was out scouting for us. He wore many hats,” Bickett said. “He’d be an assistant coach, be our lead scout. He’d coordinate with different guys in the area, ‘Hey, we got to go scout for Bick and Bret (Helms).’ It was huge, because you knew it was always going to be done right, it was thorough and he was passionate about it. He wanted us to be successful. I know I owe him so much for that.”

Johnson was happy to help.

“I loved scouting for those guys,” he said. “For one thing, I knew it was tremendously appreciated. Enjoyed watching our kids have success. But when you have those kind of friendships and relationships, you do things for people.

“Those guys always kidded me. I quit (coaching) and scouted and they went to state. And they had all those state medals. I got back on them a little bit on the football end of it.”

Much like the older staff at Western helped mentor them when they first arrived, Bickett is hopeful the relationship he had with Johnson made an impact on the younger staff at Bureau Valley.

“I hope some of the younger staff members see that camaraderie that we shared and how important that is building strong relationships as a teaching staff and a group of coaches,” he said. “Because if you have that, you have something special. The kids see that and they’ll work hard in the classroom. They don’t want to disappoint you. They’ll work hard athletically. I think that’s what we built that togetherness and that relationship we shared, and I think a lot of the kids will look back and appreciate that.”

BV superintendent Jason Stabler has the unique perspective of playing for both coaches and later becoming their boss. He can’t thank them enough for their many contributions.

“I cannot thank these men enough for the influence they have had on my life and so many others,” he said.

What’s next

While they won’t have their daily interactions in the hallways, at lunch or each morning in Bickett’s office, the two will keep in touch. They stood up in each other’s weddings and their friendship goes well beyond the walls of school.

“Bick and I are friends regardless of work or whatever,” Johnson said. “If we’d had gone different paths 15 years ago, our relationship would not have changed very much. Became a friendship a lot more than school wise.”

They have no set plans, but the new retirees will have plenty to keep them busy in retirement, spending time with family and playing golf.

Bickett’s daughter, Claire, just graduated from Rock Falls and will be playing college volleyball in Pennsylvania. His youngest daughter, Miley, is an up-and-coming freshman talent at Rock Falls, and his oldest two kids live and work in Iowa.

Johnson’s son, Alex, and daughter, Ellen, both are coaching in Iowa, and his youngest son, Adam, attends his alma mater, Northern Iowa. He’ll also get to visit his dad, Dale, who is going to be turning 91 and living by himself in their hometown in Greene, Iowa.

“I start to get worried when people start to ask me what I’m going to do. I don’t have any plans,” Bickett said. “I’m supposed to be retired. If I want to play golf with Craig or farm with someone, I can. I’ll find plenty of things to keep me busy. I’m not worried about that. But everyone else sure is.”

“I agree with Brad. I’ll figure it out. I play a lot more golf than he does,” Johnson said, with Bickett quickly chipping in, “I’ll play more, I promise you that.”

Johnson admits that Bickett will “probably handle being retired better than I will. ... Anne’s worried about (me missing) fall and football.”