Montgomery Academy names Ethan McBride head football coach

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The Montgomery Academy Interim Athletic Director Julie Gordon has announced Ethan McBride as the ninth head football coach at the school. Coach McBride, who has been the Defensive Coordinator at MA since 2020, will continue to teach in the classroom and remain as Head Track & Field Coach.

“Montgomery Academy has been a home to me for as long as I can remember,” said McBride. “I grew up crawling underneath these bleachers and toting water bottles on the sideline to now have the opportunity to lead this storied program.”

”I’d like to thank John McWilliams and Julie Gordon for entrusting me with this program. I’d also like to thank David Bethea, Robert Johnson, and John Tatum, who have been mentors to me throughout my career, and I’m so thankful to have had them in my life. I’d also like to thank my wife, Laura, my son, Theodore, and my parents for their love and support and many hours of traveling through all the football seasons that have led us here,” McBride continued. “Finally, I’d like to thank our football assistants and athletes, who are like a family to me. We’ve already laid the foundation over this past month during my time as interim, our athletes are fired up and ready to go, and it’s time to show everyone what the newest iteration of this program will look like. Here we go!”

Associate Athletic Director David Bethea said, “Ethan is certainly one of the best up-and-coming young head coaches in Alabama. As the Defensive Coordinator at MA, he was heavily involved in our run to the state semifinals in 2020 and the state championship game in 2021. Ethan also cares greatly about our students well being and maturity off the field as well. I am so excited to have Ethan lead our football program for many years into the future.”

McBride’s coaching career began in 2011, working with defensive backs and receivers at Tuscaloosa Academy, which won the state championship in 2012. In 2017, he took a job coaching linebackers and quarterbacks at Childersburg High School. A year later, he accepted a position at Shades Valley, where he coached defensive backs for two years.

Before coming to MA in 2020, he worked at Helena as the quarterbacks’ coach. Since McBride arrived at MA, the Eagles have been the 2020 and 2021 3A-3 Region Champions and the 3A State Runner-Up in 2021.McBride received his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Alabama, where he majored in Secondary Mathematics Education and minored in Business Administration. McBride and his wife, Laura, have one son, Theodore.

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