Brownsville Veterans Memorial basketball coach Larry Gibson has decided to retire from coaching after spending almost 30 years teaching the sport in Brownsville.
Gibson first moved to the Rio Grande Valley in 1993 to be the head coach at Brownsville Pace. He departed to Brownsville Veterans to start the Chargers’ program in 2010. Though he’s stepping away from coaching, Gibson will continue to teach government at the high school.
Brownsville ISD athletic director Gilbert Leal said that even though Gibson won’t be coaching anymore, his impact will still be present because of his illustrious coaching tree and the lessons he taught everyone that played for him.
“As long as I’ve been coaching, I’ve always known him as ‘the guy’ in basketball in Brownsville,” Leal said. “There’s been a lot of coaches that he worked with on his staff that are coaches in our district right now. … Every single one of the athletes that played for him, when they left his program, they were not only solid basketball players with a lot of knowledge but also he taught them lots of core values as far as how to live their lives after basketball.
“He’s always done things the right way, and we’re going to miss him tremendously,” Leal added. “His wife is also my athletic secretary, so what both of them do as a couple for BISD is unmeasurable.”
Leal said one of Gibson’s best qualities was his ability and willingness to adapt his philosophies and coaching style to the ever-changing times. That characteristic helped Gibson bring plenty of success to the Chargers program, including six trips to the playoffs and three District 32-5A championships after a strong career at Pace.
