Hometown Hillsdale: Brad Affholter, ’97
Written by Stephanie Gordon
Friday night lights on the football field and many innings spent on the baseball field have been a major part of Brad Affholter’s life. The 1997 grad and former Chargers football player has called Hillsdale home for over 26 years. During that time, he has impacted many in the classroom and on the fields, including his children, local children, and even children in Ethiopia.
“I received an offer to play football at Hillsdale,” Brad explained, “but it really goes back to my sister, Kathy Affholter Petersen, ’95. We looked at colleges together, and we both became student-athletes at Hillsdale. Having my sister at Hillsdale was an added perk.”
The 1996 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Offensive Lineman of the Year knew he wanted to teach math and coach after graduation. “To me, coaching is just an extension of the classroom, and a good coach is a good teacher,” said Brad. “So, just like in my math classroom, I love to see the ‘light bulb’ moments from both students and athletes.”
During his time at Hillsdale, Brad played for coaches Steve Brockelbank, Dick Lowry, and Dave Dye. “I was able to use what I was taught at Hillsdale in my own coaching career,” Brad said. “Not only the Xs and Os, but how to relate to players.”
Brad met his wife, Darcy Morton Affholter, ’97, at Hillsdale, and they both completed their student teaching during the second semester of their senior years. “We got into the local school systems,” said Brad. “I was at Reading High School in Reading, Michigan, and Darcy was at Gier Elementary School in Hillsdale. We had such great teaching experiences that we’re still here today.”
While Brad was student-teaching, he had the opportunity to help coach baseball at Reading High School. “I became close with the coaching staff and the administration, and then I was offered a full-time teaching position,” Brad said. “It was a natural fit.”
Brad explained that he and Darcy planned to take their local teaching careers year by year, but now, 26 years later, they still call Hillsdale home. “I grew up in the Detroit area, and it was nice having things close by,” he said. “But I fell in love with the pace of life here in Hillsdale. We love that we share the same mindset of many here, and we plugged into a local church that was really vital for us.”
Brad and Darcy have three sons who play football at Hillsdale College, one daughter, and one “adopted” son, Teddy, in Ethiopia. “We were going through the adoption process for our son Teddy in Ethiopia,” Brad said. But in 2018, the Ethiopian parliament banned all adoptions from foreign countries. “After our adoption process with Teddy stalled, we partnered with local friends to help care for the young boys and girls in Ethiopia who were going to be affected by the Ethiopian government shutdowns of adoptions.”
For five years, the Affholters have helped with a ministry called Moriah Kids. Brad and Darcy serve on the board of directors for the U.S. component. Every annual trip to Ethiopia is not only to visit their son Teddy, but also to serve and encourage ministry partners doing work for the vulnerable children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. “What we had felt was devastating and painful for our family,” said Brad. “But God turned it into an opportunity to serve and help so many more young boys and girls than just our son Teddy.”
Brad and Darcy’s sons, twins Ben and Nick, and Zac, who will be a freshman this fall, are on the Chargers football team. “Seeing the field from a parent’s perspective is pretty cool,” Brad said. “Keeping those connections and watching my kids play with kids of guys I played football with is awesome.”
Going into his 27th year of teaching at Reading High School, Brad still teaches math and recently stepped down as football and baseball coach. He begins a new coaching career as assistant to the offensive line coach for the Chargers. Darcy recently accepted a full-time position as lead afternoon teacher at Mary Randall Preschool.
“I think staying connected to the College has certainly blessed us,” Brad concluded. “And the joy I see in a student’s or an athlete’s face when a skill or concept is grasped makes the effort all worth it. These moments are why I was called to be a teacher and a coach.”
Stephanie Gordon, a lifelong Hillsdale native, is the managing editor of Hillsdale College’s Student Stories Blog. She is married to chiropractor, Dr. Matt Gordon, and has three children – Eloise, Flora, and Jack. When she has a spare moment, she enjoys paleo baking, floating on Baw Beese Lake, and breaking a sweat at the gym.
Published in July 2023