Student-Athlete of the Week: Brad Bair

At 6-foot 3-inches and 225 pounds, Niwot senior guard/tackle Brad Bair is a force to be reckoned with on the football field, as opponents across the scrimmage line from him can no doubt attest. But underneath that intimidating exterior lies a quiet workhorse who leads by example as he consistently does his job well, Niwot head coach Nikolas Blume said.

"We actually give him a hard time about how nice he is, because no matter how hard you coach him, he's just so polite all the time. It's almost a running joke now. ... Academically he gets it done, on the field he gets it done, and he's such a great teammate."

The Cougars recently wrapped up their most successful season in more than a dozen years, and finally broke through the three-win ceiling that has plagued them over that time. For Blume, that's due in large part to the play of Bair and his fellow seniors on the offensive and defensive lines, a phase of the game the coach has targeted for improvement. For Bair, however, it wasn't just better play on the field that brought Niwot success this year.

"With Coach Bloom and the new coaching administration, this past year especially, the whole program, players and coaches, we've gotten so close. There's been so much more of a brotherhood feel that I've never experienced with football in general before, and I've played football for five or six years now. And I think that just by being so much closer than ever really helps us all to be on the same page as each other and communicate well."

Along with the success in the 2021 season came some very memorable moments, not least was Niwot's 34-20 homecoming win over Riverdale Ridge, a game Bair called "a huge statement." The Cougars trailed 13-6 until late in the third quarter, then exploded for four touchdowns for the comeback win.

"That game had such a great student turnout, and just so much positivity in the air," he said. "That was such a different night. I've never experienced a game like that, and the whole student section rushing the field early was just out of control."

Second to that for Bair was the Cougars' 28-20 win over Mountain View on senior night, which was not just the elusive fourth win, but came as former Niwot head coach Jeremy Lanter watched from his perch on the sidelines as a Lions assistant. Like many who played under Lanter, Bair was not necessarily unhappy to see him go after the 2019 season, and has embraced the new staff and culture under Blume wholeheartedly.

"Winning senior night at Niwot is unheard of, so just being able to have the experience of winning on senior night against our old coach was such a cool accomplishment and good feeling to have. I've never played in a game that exciting and rewarding."

Bair leaves the team as one of its most impactful players on either the offensive or defensive lines, a hole that will be hard to fill, Blume said. For Bair, however, it's the loss of football, a sport he has loved since childhood, that will leave the bigger hole.

"That was the last time I suited up and wore the pads and did everything, and it was really hard," he said of his final appearance for Niwot on Nov. 5. "It's going to take me a while to adjust to living without playing football. But this was such a great year to finish on, and I just couldn't have asked for a better experience overall."

In the classroom at Niwot, Bair is taking mostly AP classes, including AP literature, where they recently finished reading "House of Spirits" by Isabel Allende. He is also taking Mr. Benson's AP Economics class, and recently participated in the Stock Market Challenge, a one-day trading competition against other Colorado high schools. Niwot took first out of 33 teams.

In the coming weeks, Bair will have pending college applications to keep his mind off of the end of football season. The senior has applied early action to three schools-CU-Boulder, University of Texas, and University of Wisconsin-where he plans to study for a business degree. After that, his plans are less specific.

When not in the classroom or on the gridiron for Niwot, Bair enjoys reading Stephen King novels, spending time with his brothers Blake and Trenton, and playing with his dog Hurley. He also plays rugby, and during school vacations, works at Sturtz & Copeland, a Boulder nursery founded by his grandmother, Carol Riggs.