Meet the 2025 All-Area Boys' Basketball Coach of the Year: Gary Tidwell

Why hes Coach of the Year Led by Player of the Year Keison Peoples, the Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin boys basketball team equaled the programs winningest season in 2024-25.

The Blue Devils 34-2 campaign ended one win shy of the Class 2A state tournament after the second sectional title in program history.

Coach Gary Tidwell and his wife, Stephanie also BHRAs cheerleading coach chatted with staff writer Joey Wright about the teams strong season.

What are your thoughts on a historic season for BHRA? Gary: We came into the season with really high expectations.

We were 30-4 and a sectional qualifier the year before.

We had five out of our top-seven players returning, so the bar was set pretty high.

Early on in the season, we came up with a mission statement, a list of things that we wanted to accomplish, and reaching the state finals was that last objective.

We didnt quite hit that one, came up a little bit short, but we gave it a great effort, and had a memorable season.

The season was definitely full of challenges.

Right from the get go, the first week of practice, our football team advanced in the playoffs.

So, I had 10 guys at practice, six of them were freshmen, you know, and we opened up in a Thanksgiving tournament at Schlarman a couple weeks later.

We had some injuries, throughout the middle of the season, some sicknesses.

So looking back, it didnt seem like we had a whole lot of practices where we had the entire group together.

Personally, it was a challenge at times, even right up to the Elite Eight game having to attend a family funeral.

So, it was just a lot, but it was a rewarding season.

We finished strong.

Who do you lean on when the going gets tough? Gary: Weve got a great support system at Bismarck.

Ive got great assistant coaches.

Our administrators are very, very supportive.

My wife comes right alongside me and offers a lot of encouragement and support.

But I think my personal faith, I think, is probably the biggest factor and wanting to live on purpose and to be a difference maker in what youre doing.

So, I think all that plays into that.

Stephanie, what did this season look like from your perspective? Stephanie: I would say Im really proud of Gary.

I know Im a wife here, but hes put in a lot of years, and from the time weve gotten married, and weve been married 24 years, Gary has been passionate about coaching and passionate about basketball.

I think a lot of people dont understand just how much goes into it off the court, when a coach is truly dedicated to making his team better.

And Gary looked at the players, and he did his due diligence in the summer and the years leading up to this year.

He looks at each player and what they have to offer, and he really tries to bring out the best in each one.

And I feel like this maybe sounds a little cheesy for me to be saying all this in the glowing review, but I think thats Garys talent.

He can just take players and see what they can give.

And I just think time after time, he really gets them to give their all.

It was a long year in that we had a very packed schedule.

And I think there were times when the boys felt really tired.

I know Gary felt tired, and they just stuck together and kept reminding each other what their potential was.

There were moments that were pretty tough, and he would come home pretty tired at night, but a tired night or a discouraged night just had him re-studying and refiguring and getting back in there the next practice.

And so to see him being able to work with the team and get as far as they did, Im just immensely thankful and proud that hard work paid off.

Gary, where does your passion for basketball come from? Gary: My passion for basketball comes from my stepdad, Charlie Strasberger, whom my mom married when I was nine years old.

Im from the south.

I was born and raised in Tennessee, my step dad was from Kentucky, so he was obviously a basketball coach.

He took a high school coaching job back in the early 80s at Macon, which is now Meridian.

So he turned the program there around in a couple years, and we went to Pana and won the state title my sophomore year in 1988 and then he took a job up at Prairie Central for my junior and senior year, where we finished third and second in those two years.

So yeah, thats definitely where it started.

He was a successful coach all the way through, and his influence played a big part in that.

And then I went on to play college basketball and all of that.

And so I just kind of wanted to start a career in coaching.

My brother was also a coach, he coached football.

So, their influence was instrumental.

And making that decision to choose that profession.

Stephanie, what does that look like from your perspective? Stephanie: Anyone who knows our story knows this, so I say this laughingly.

I cheered in high school, but my family background is much more hunting, fishing, so Gary and Is first date, he was already established at Danville and working and hoping to be a coach there.

And I said, Im not marrying a coach.

The Lord has a sense of humor, because we went on to have three sons who have been just as passionate about this game, and I spend most of my life in the gym now.

So, I just think that, you know, its something that God has used in Garys life when he was younger.

I just feel like basketball was something that really kept him focused and motivated.

It helped him get through college with some scholarships.

And with that passion, I can remember again when my oldest was 13 months old, Gary and I were at KMart before it closed, and they had one of those Fisher-Price hoops that go up and down.

And Gary was like, weve got to do this for Elijah.

We brought that home, and Elijah was walking, and he grabbed that ball.

And from that point on, my boys just loved it.

Theyve traveled with their dad when he coached at Danville.

Ive got pictures of him being little guys sitting on the bench, handing the big guys water.

My oldest is now studying to be a coach.

My middle one is a ref, and he refs all over the area, and loves it.

Stephanie, how do you help balance everything during a busy season? Stephanie: I will say some things suffer.

This was my fifth year coaching (cheerleading) here and working with Gary, and I did have a son playing.

He sat the bench for varsity, but he also played freshman and JV, so he had a busy schedule.

And I think just recognizing that, you know what? Some weeks the house is going to be the thing that drops, or the grocery list, or were going to eat out too much.

Were trying to not sweat the small stuff.

And our son thats playing, hes our youngest.

So weve already had two sons be able to go through the program with Gary, and I would definitely say my third son (just wants to) enjoy this ride for as long as he can, because it wont be long until, you know, Micah will have been through it, as well.

...

Weve all had different roles.

Micah has been the waterboy, and hes tagged along.

Now, hes on the team, and the older two had moments the same.

Gary, what does the offseason look like for the Blue Devils? Gary: Keisons on the AAU circuit right now and everybody else is involved in a spring sport, so well get them back in June.

Right now, weve got all three of our teams in the Mahomet summer league on Tuesday nights.

Weve got some shootouts scheduled.

So, June is a really busy month for us, so we get as much done in that month as we can, and then give them the rest of the summer off or other sports and vacation.

So, weve got a big summer plan..

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