Brad Brucker

Get to Know Brad

Piedmont Soccer Association President

What makes Piedmont home for you?

My family and I moved to Piedmont in May of 2011, right before the tornado that hit our community that year. We chose Piedmont as a place to live and raise our family because it reminded me of the community I grew up in—Mustang in the 1980s. We wanted to be part of a safe, vibrant, and growing community that valued kids and youth development. Piedmont was that place for us, and those are still the things I love most about this community.

What is your personal connection to soccer or youth sports?

I am the person I am today because someone introduced me to soccer, and it became my sanctuary while I was growing up. My family wasn’t wealthy or well-connected, and I didn’t enjoy some of the same opportunities that some of my friends did. However, on a soccer field, we were all the same.

From the moment I played my first game at four years old, I never wanted to do anything more than play soccer. The game was engaging, free-flowing, and creative, and I just couldn’t get enough of it. When I was a teenager, I had some rough times at home and at school, and I had high school and club coaches who made a huge impact on my life and my development as a young man trying to make sense of the world. That experience shaped how I viewed the world and my place in it. I realized then how special sports—and coaches—can be in shaping people and communities.

What inspired you to become part of the Piedmont Soccer Association?

I love this game, and I am inspired to be a part of the PSA to help create a space and opportunities for current and future soccer players in our community.

What is your professional background, and what skills from this are you bringing to our team?

I have a bachelor’s degree from Southern Nazarene University in Family Studies with an emphasis in Human Development, along with 17 years of soccer coaching experience at multiple levels, including club, high school, middle school, and youth.

What is the most important lesson you hope young athletes learn on the field?

First and foremost, the game is supposed to be fun. We naturally get better at the things we enjoy and are passionate about. If you want to be the best at something, you have to love doing it more than anyone else.

Another important lesson is that hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. In a culture that often values quick success and instant fame, I hope kids learn the value of applying extraordinary effort to something over a long period of time—and the confidence that can come from that commitment. It’s not how good you are at something that matters most; it’s how much effort you are willing to put in to become the best version of yourself.

What do you hope they’ll learn off the field?

Better people make better players. Personal development comes before player development. Soccer is not life—it simply mirrors it. Every lesson we learn in the game is a lesson that can be applied later when the stakes are much higher.

Only a select few players—even from the best developmental programs—will go on to play professionally or collegiately. However, every player will become a parent, professional, or leader in their community. The lessons learned through sport help prepare them for those roles.

What is your all-time favorite sports memory, either playing, watching, or coaching?

I have many great memories as a player, coach, and fan—some that are too personal to share. It would be easy to say the 2023 5A girls’ state championship win over Bishop McGuinness was my favorite, but that moment was really just one of a thousand moments over the decade that led up to it.

What I will always remember, though, is parents and members of the community standing in the rain at City Stop at 1 a.m., waving Piedmont soccer flags as we re-entered town that night. It was an unforgettable moment for our players, coaches, and community.