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Wildcats rally around Bradleys after family illness

Wednesday, December, 03 By David Willis
Staff writer

LOWELL — During halftime last night, Whittier Tech head coach Kevin Bradley was visited by young sons Connor and Kevin Jr. But they were not there to simply say hello.

“My sons came to me with a play,” Bradley said with a proud smile. “They said, ‘Dad, I think this will be open and (quarterback) Dillon (Ryan) can do it.’ They are around all the time and know all the plays. They just adore the team.”

Connor, 12, Kevin Jr., 9, and the rest of the Bradleys have become as much a part of the Whittier football family as their father. And it was the Wildcats family that helped pull them through a trying fall.

On Sept. 20, Kevin Sr.’s father Fred Bradley suffered a heart attack in the stands before Whittier’s matchup with Narragansett.

“All of a sudden I heard people yelling to call 911,” remembered Bradley. “But from the sidelines, you can’t really see into the stands. Then all of a sudden I saw them carrying him out of the stands, and just thought, ‘Wow.’”

Fred Bradley survived, but needed to undergo bypass surgery. Kevin Bradley spent the next months traveling to Boston to visit and attend to his father, and had to find the strength to continue with his daily activities as football coach and Whittier athletic director.

“The team really got us through this,” said Bradley. “The team is an extension of our family. I would be at practice and (senior Bryan) Trickett or someone would ask, ‘Hey, don’t you need to go to Boston? Coach, you need to get going. We’re all set.’ Some days I had to leave a little early, and the team helped me pull through.”

The team was more than happy to do it for their coach, who has been at the helm of the Wildcats for the last eight years.

“When it happened no one couldn’t believe what was going on,” said Trickett. “We knew what happened before coach did, and I can’t even describe it. But we really pulled together.”

That the Wildcats rallied around their coach and his family was no surprise. When players make big plays, they head to Connor and Kevin — both dead ringers for their father — to celebrate. And Bradley’s wife and his daughter Leah are both just as involved.

“They are a part of the team,” said Bradley. “You watch them and they feel as bad as the team does. You can see in their eyes how much it means to them.

“My sons look up to these kids so much. They love to sit with them on bus rides and talk to them. They’ll help the players take the tape off their ankles and hands, then keep it and say, ‘This was Trickett’s or this is Dillon’s.’ I tell the (players) that they are role models to my kids and others. You can’t find role models like that in the professional ranks. They love having the kids around.”

Fred Bradley, 74, made a stellar recovery, and was in the stands once again during Whittier’s Division 3A semifinal clash with Amesbury last night.

“He was here somewhere,” said Bradley, looking into the crowd. “Ready to tell me what went wrong and talk about the game plan.”

As Bradley left the field last night, it was clear that the loss could not dampen the pride he felt for his team or his family.

“My mother passed away at an early age from cancer when I was just starting my coaching career in college at Villanova,” he said. “She worked in the Methuen athletic department and would make trips to see me. She would be so happy to be here right now.

“I don’t have my mother, but my dad is here and my children and wife are here with me. We live and die by our athletics. We love it. As soon as I am out of here I am coaching one of my children’s games. Athletics and academics are most important to us. I am a very lucky son and father.”

Additional stories:

• Jittery Whittier can’t get going, falls to Amesbury
• Former coach Connors thrilled with Wildcats’ progress