Bolding set to make triumphant return to North Little Rock grid program

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

In a seismic change in the Arkansas high school football landscape, Little Rock Parkview head football coach Brad Bolding is making a triumphant return “home” to North Little Rock.

Bolding, whose Patriots won the last three Class 5A gridiron state championships, was officially hired by the North Little Rock school board on Thursday night.

A resident of North Little Rock since 2007, Bolding (149-64 career record in 18 seasons) was let go by the school in 2015 with allegations being hurled by both sides and lawsuits filed.

He returns to take over the Charging Wildcats program with the resources needed to build a powerhouse as North Little Rock is putting $20 million into its facilities.

“All my kids went to North Little Rock and we have still lived here,” Bolding said. “I am probably just four or five hundred yards from the high school in the old Park Hill area. I am right around the turn there and I can see the (NLR) school every morning when I head into Little Rock.

“My kids continued to go there and I have a son (Brady) that is in the seventh grade at the middle school. We are deeply embedded here in North Little Rock and we always have been here since 2007 when I moved here from Mayflower.

“We have a lot of friends here, we are really involved in the community and it is just a great opportunity.”

North Little Rock reached out to Bolding and he was happy to talk to a new administration that had taken over since his previous stint at the school.

The Charging Wildcats went 53-12 from 2015-2019 under Jaime Mitchell – Bolding’s successor – with a 2017 state championship and four consecutive state championship game appearances.

But the program went 0-11 last season and 3-8 in 2023 previous under head coach Gary Reed, who was hired after Randy Sandefur retired in 2021.

“They reached out to me and I was happy to talk with them,” Bolding said. “None of the people that where there 10 years ago are still there.

“So it is a whole new group of people and I like what they have got going on. I know that their record didn’t indicate that, but some of the things that the have got coming up, the ideas that they have, the ideas that I’ve got and this new facility is an almost $20 million facility that they are going to build.

“…That is going to be nice and I’ll be involved in helping design that, which will be tied in with Baptist Health and will have an ortho clinic in it with doctors. I mean if you break a leg in game, you can go get an x-ray right there in the facility.

“They’ll also be about an 80-yard indoor turf facility so there is a lot of good things and the number one thing is may son coming up. We have always kept our kids in school here since the last time because it is convenient and we’ve got lots of friends.

“Two of them are in college now and with Brady coming up, I wanted to be able to coach him and be around him while he is in school. Plus it’s a good pay raise and some other factors like I am not teaching class and I am going to be able to pick – for the most part – my staff.”

Bolding is energized about returning to North Little Rock as head coach.

“I am really exited about this go around,” Bolding said. “The last time things were going in the right direction, but there was still a lot of work to do. The facilities were in awful shape and you had to really convince kids to come out and play and build your numbers up to real Class 7A numbers.

“I think it might even be more of a task this time around, but the good thing for me is I know all the people and I know how to fix it because I have done it once before.

“I honestly feel like there is unfinished business. I feel like we didn’t finish what we started, what we anticipated to do, what we were here to do and that was to win championships. We were knocking on the door five of the last six years I was at North Little Rock.”

Bolding believes he is better suited for the challenge this time around.

“I am much better coach and a lot of things have happened since then and I am a lot wiser as coach,” Bolding said. “I didn’t necessarily do the right things either while I was here. But for them to say we want you to come back home, that is pretty much an apology the way I look at it.

“The fact that they want me to come back and are going to pay me to come back and the opportunity to finish what I started is great.”

Bolding was quick to point out his love and respect for those at Parkview.

“I feel like the Good Lord has given all of us strong points and I think one of mine is going into programs that are down and building them back up,” Bolding said. “Now I may fall flat on my face here, but I feel pretty confident since I am going to get to hire coaches that will be on campus.

“The first time around I had to deal with the coaches that I had, who were teaching at other schools.”

He wants to bring what he has been doing at Little Rock Parkview to North Little Rock.

“I just kind of want to pattern it off what we were able to accomplish at Parkview,” Bolding said. “To win three in a row, I mean it is tough to win one, really hard to win one.”

He’ll get going soon.

“I guess Friday when they come to off-season I will talk to them..so really Monday will be my starting date if everything goes right,” Bolding said.