HOUSTON – Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of Thomas Randle walking through the halls of his school, with son Brian Randle in tow is something that is engrained into his memory as are his father's life lessons.
While working as a building principal in The Woodlands, Brian recollects on the weekends them going out and laying grass as a side business.
That hard work mentality, being a good person and much more is what being a Randle High School Lion will mean.
"My job is to make sure that we embody everything that my dad is," Brian, who was hired as the first-ever head football coach at Randle HS on Thursday said.
"He's taught me everything about being humble and work ethic. He's just a hard worker. I've always looked up to him. He is a good human, he's a good person. He's one of the good ones that's going to do right by people."
Dr. Thomas Randle High School, which will open in Fall 2021, has its first athletic coordinator and fittingly it is the son of its namesake.
"You tell your kids all the time that we have to go out there and fight for the name on your jersey," Brian said. "Now, it's real. It is the real deal. It is different.
"Now I get to give my all to a school that's named after your dad. That adds pressure too though. It's a lot of pressure because we have to do things right and we have to be successful."
Brian spent last season as the head coach at Mayde Creek High School in Katy ISD and prior to that spent 11 years at Alief Taylor High School.
"Other than winning football and basketball games and track meets, to me coaching it's such a blessing to be a blessing. As a coach, it's a way of life. To be called a coach it's a unique thing in itself. It's so giving, we're in service. We have to make sure we keep working hard for those kids." - Randle
But those were already established schools and programs. He does, however, have experience being a part of opening a new program when Timberview High School in Mansfield ISD opened.
Because he is the athletic coordinator, Randle will have a hand in overseeing the hiring of all the coaches and has a clear vision of the qualities he wants them to possess.
"They have to be high-energy people," he said. "They have to be willing to go above and beyond for the kids … We are going to serve the community and make Randle an extremely special place.
"We are going to do things right at Randle High School. We do things right everywhere we go. I believe in doing things and treating people right. But there we get to build it from the ground up and put great people around kids that are driven and that want to make sure that we put kids in the position to be successful."
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Another neat angle to this already amazing story is that this is a homecoming for Brian as he heads back to Lamar CISD.
During the summers when he was in college, Brian said he actually came back and worked in the district print shop. Once graduated, his first job was at Foster High School, which at the time was just opened.
He's also lived in the community for the past 10 years and his son is actually zoned to attend the soon-to-be-opened Randle High School.
"It's surreal, to be honest, it's a really unique situation," Randle said. "I'm just happy, fortunate, and blessed that I get to be a part of it. I'm pumped that I get to be a part of it."
Randle High School will open in the Fall of 2021 with just ninth and 10th graders. They will play junior varsity sports for the first year and will be aligned into a UIL district for varsity competition in February of 2022.
So, what does dad think about all of this?
"He was proud and told me I had earned it and it wasn't given," he said.