Before the Hornets even took the field Friday night, the varsity football team was already celebrating a win: their head coach officially inducted into the Preble Hall of Fame.It was a full-circle moment for Brad Boockmeier, who cemented his football legacy in the place that shaped his love of the game."I believe in the kid, and I know that they can do better. I know they can be better. I know they can work harder," Boockmeier said.For the Preble alum, the honor is the realization of a lifelong goal."I always wanted to be a teacher," stated Boockmeier. "I guess I never wanted to be anything but that, you know, a teacher and a coach. The role models that I had, they made me want to do it and pay that forward."Senior players say he's turned the team around."The culture just changed," senior Tyler Cleven said.Cleven remembers life before Coach Boockmeier arrived."We weren't winning," Cleven recalled. "People weren't really excited about football. People didn't want to come out and play."Boockmeier has spent the past nine years helping run Preble's football program. His promotion to head coach in 2024 brought new energy to the program, says senior Kaden Morales."The community and the friendship for the whole team, he brings a good part of that and brings everyone together," Morales said.Watch the full broadcast story by Jessica Goska here: Preble football coach makes school's athletic Hall of FameBoockmeier says his own mentors as a student-athlete at Preble inspired his coaching philosophy."As a coach, you want to win football games but if your ultimate goal is just to win, you know, the high school level's probably not for you. It's really more about how can you change these kids' futures," Boockmeier said.His players note he has done just that."He pushes everyone to be the best they can," Morales said."He's just a big help in school, football everything," added Cleven.Now a Hall of Fame inductee, Boockmeier says he's not done shaping futures in the district. Off the field, he's a teacher at Preble, and he says his greatest honor is supporting students wherever they need it most. ...read more read less