Jirah Fleming
When Sergio Kindle graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 2006, he was the No. 1 linebacker in the nation.
After a successful college career and playing in the NFL, he returned home to coach high school students on the very fields where the yards he rushed and tackles he made built his future.
In his current role as the defensive coordinator at Hillcrest High School, Kindle brings a passion for the game that dates back to his childhood.
“It feels like I came out of the womb playing football,” he said. “It’s all I have ever wanted to do.”
Following in the footsteps of his father, who played semiprofessional football, Kindle became a versatile player who found success on both sides of the game, as a defensive and offensive athlete at Woodrow. Before graduating, he made history as the only player in the entire state of Texas class to win All-State honors on both defensive and offensive positions.
“The Woodrow community has always kept in contact with me,” Kindle said. “Even when I decided to coach at our rival school Hillcrest. Our relationship is bigger than football. They genuinely care about me as a person.”
Kindle spent his first year as a coach in Dallas ISD at his alma mater, who Hillcrest will face as their next opponent on Oct. 2. But it is at Hillcrest where he is making his mark despite a brief pause in his coaching career last year when he was diagnosed with colon cancer at the young age of 37. He got the diagnosis after falling ill during a practice.
Since he has come back from treatment, he said he is taking life slower on the field. While this slower pace at times has been difficult for Kindle, his coaching style, energy for the team, and passion for football are stronger than ever. He embraces the Hillcrest football team’s mantra of working with purpose.
“So far at Hillcrest, the guys this season have figured out the mentality that we want them to have to win,” he said. “The time that we put in over the last two years is starting to show. This year they are playing at a level that I don’t think they even realized they were capable of.”
His experiences serve as examples of what can be accomplished. He was a star player for The University of Texas at Austin where he was the first collegiate player at the time to win two prestigious awards for outstanding defensive players—the Butkus Award for top linebackers and the Ted Hendricks Award for best defensive end.
“One of the biggest moments I had at Woodrow was playing in the old Texas Stadium,” he said. “The fact that my dream was to get to the NFL and play in an NFL stadium, playing there made it all the more realistic.”
In an impactful football memory, this time playing with the Longhorns in college, Kindle recalled his first collegiate quarterback sack, in a game against the University of Oklahoma.
“I felt like that sack wasn’t just for the team I was playing with,” he said. “It was for everyone that I was ever teammates with growing up. Everyone who had a hand in helping me get to that point. I really wanted to ‘put on for my city.’”
His dream to play in the NFL would come true in 2010, when he was drafted to the Baltimore Ravens. He went on to win Superbowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers in 2013.
“Football is a gladiator sport,” Kindle said. “With me being a Dallas ISD kid, there is a certain way I played to get to where I did. I feel like I have some tools that I can pass along to these athletes to get them prepared for not just games in the high school season, but also for the future. If they aspire to play at the next level or the level after that.”
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