“Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger” — Mr. Kile Reflects on His HHS Journey Before Leaving

In Hastings High’s wrestling room, leaderboards now hang where basketball hoops stood, murals of tigers and claw marks cover walls that were once bare, and fresh mats line the floor. On those mats stands Brandon Kile — not for his first practice or to chase state championships with his friend Nolan Laux, but take it all in and say goodbye.

“I’ve watched the mats change… I’ve watched the walls change… I grew up here,” Brandon Kile said. 

After five years as a staff member and four years as a student, Kile will be leaving Hastings High to explore new experiences and teaching opportunities at Millard West High School in Omaha.

“I’m sure that for any adult or coming-of-age student that’s going to make a college decision or… make a change in their career… There’s a lot of reflection that goes on,” Kile said.

Kile felt like he was no exception. For him, pursuing new opportunities means leaving the familiar halls of Hastings High and its people — past teammates, former coaches, colleagues, friends, and students who made it feel like home.

“Senior [Brian] Laux would drive me home after practice sometimes when I was a kid, and I can remember walking these halls when it was dark after school hours. I was always mesmerized, like, ‘Oh, there is so much mystery here,’ you know?” Kile said. “Now, I have my own classroom, and I’m a teacher here… It’s been an amazing transition and journey.”

That feeling of familiarity and community — one that grew since the start of high school — is what initially drew him back. In 2021, as his younger brother was wrestling for Hastings High, he left his job as a data analyst in Southern California to become a coach at the school.

“The truth is, when I graduated college, I didn’t know that I wanted to be a coach. Actually, I thought I wanted to get away from wrestling… But, I felt my tug back to the sport,” Kile said. “Coach Nolan Laux is my close, close, best friend from high school… watching him coach, I knew that maybe there would be a place for me.”

Although back in a familiar environment, Kile still needed time to transition into his role, first as a coach and later as a teacher in 2022.

“There’s many teachers in this building who were my teachers, and so you think that you know them, but you don’t when you’re eye level with them,” Kile said. “I am no longer their student, so I get treated differently, and my role is different.”

Because of that, like before, his experience was influenced by those around him — administrators, his mentor teacher Christy Rickert (who supervised his UNK student teaching), manufacturing engineering teacher Kiley Dodson, and math teachers Sharon Witt and Tarah Davis.

“I had never taught before, so… thank goodness for Jeff Linden and his staff,” Kile said. “I needed some improvement, and I hope I’ve improved the last couple years.”

The guidance and support Kile received molded his own approach as a coach and teacher: to adapt and serve as a foundation for his athletes and students, just as those before had done for him.

“What I like about coaching and teaching is it’s dynamic. Every day, you’re making adjustments to see where your students are and where your team is,” Kile said. “I’m at an athlete’s disposal — I don’t know if that’s the correct terminology for that — but I really want to be present and available for our athletes and for what they need.”

For that reason, Kile’s favorite part of coaching is seeing athletes’ personalities and understanding how to best assist them, whether that means talking them through a moment or taking a step back.

“These athletes are going out to perform in front of their families, their friends, their school, and in other cases, in front of the state… and it’s a vulnerable position,” Kile said. “I can think of individuals who are just silly people, and then all of a sudden, when it’s time to be engaged, they’re focused, and you can tell that they’re driven… so I really love watching athletes prepare and also knowing who they are when they aren’t preparing.”

Other times, especially throughout the past three years coaching cross country with Rickert, Kile found he did not need to step in at all. Instead, he watched the athletes enjoy themselves as a team — creating their own unique memories of community at Hastings High.

“Our girls… they’re dancing at the line, they have smiles, they’re taking imaginary photos of each other, right? So they’re getting locked-in in a different way, and that’s something I’ve never experienced,” Kile said.

Those moments on the mat and starting line translated into results — for Kile, his athletes, and the programs. During his five seasons coaching wrestling and three seasons with cross country, Kile helped guide 25 state medalists, four from this wrestling season alone. Hastings teams also reached two state runner-up finishes (boys wrestling and boys cross country in 2022), along with additional top-five finishes in recent seasons.

“Our wrestling team performed unbelievably amazing at the state tournament. It was a lot of fun,” Kile said. “When you have five guys who go and wrestle at the state meet and [four] medal, I mean, what more could you want as a coach?”

For Kile, those achievements were never just the result of his own coaching.  Rather, he thinks success came from the collective effort of students, coaches, and the broader community — what he believes to have been the hallmark of Hastings High long before he arrived at the school, and something he will miss long after he leaves.

“I’m just a person that is in Hastings High,” Kile said. “When I think of Hastings High, loyalty is the word that comes to mind. I think Hastings is a place that can have success when we bind together, we believe in each other, and we support each other. There’s obviously other schools… but I really believe that Hastings High is a community, and I’m going to miss that.”

Kile is not only grateful for his fellow and former coaches (Nolan Laux, Matthew Geiger, Brian Laux, and John Lindblad) but also the administration, who shaped his journey and fostered student success — from renovating the wrestling room to Linden’s ‘Tiger Walks.’

“Mr. Linden’s Tiger walks… I think that they’re underrated,” Kile said. “I’m sure that the student body sometimes wants to roll their eyes. Obviously, as a staff member… It takes 10 to 15 minutes of our time to step out into the hall. But, I think that stuff matters.”

Beyond athletics, Kile said he deeply appreciates the staff who make Hastings High a positive, supportive environment for the students. For example, Janelle Gegg and David Witt, whom he regularly sees during Books and Bagels Club.

“Gegg works really hard every week to make sure that the program thrives on Fridays… sometimes she makes her own baked goods,” Kile said. “Mr. David Witt is somebody that I really look up to — and I appreciate his fashion with the ties. I think that he serves as a great role model for Hastings High.”

Even as Kile heads off to become a teacher and assistant wrestling coach at Millard West, he said the decision was never about leaving Hastings High behind. Rather, it was about growth, both personal and professional.

“I’ve been asking myself ,‘Why?’ a lot, and the ‘why’ is simply experience — trying to grow myself as a person, go view other ways that a school can be run, view other ways an athletic and activities department can be run, and just opportunity to see new things.”

He sees Hastings High as a foundation for both his students and himself — one that will always support them as they independently enter a new phase of life.

“You can be great at anything that you set your mind to,” Kile said. “I think it’s just a mark of the brand. If you’re a Tiger, you can go spread your wings and do anything… and that’s pretty cool, [so] even though I won’t be here physically, this will be a part of me, and I’ll carry my ‘Tiger start’ to Millard West as well.”

With his remaining time at Hastings High, Kile wants to model that belief — of what it means to be a Tiger.

“On my exit, I just want my language, my body language, and my morale when I come into this building to reflect that I truly believe in what we do here, and I believe that we can be great in whatever that is,” Kile said.

Although Kile is becoming a Wildcat, he will forever have the spirit of a Tiger — independent yet strengthened by the close community around him.

“Once a Tiger, always a Tiger,” Kile said with a smile.