New Bridgeland head coach David Raffield envisions 'an incredibly competitive high school'

New Bridgeland High School Football Head Coach and Campus Athletic Coordinator David Raffield is excited to be back home. Raffield helped open Cy Falls High School in 1992, taking over in 2003, and he is thrilled to be back in Cy-Fair ISD, where he envisions building an athletic program that will compete at the highest level in every sport. less New Bridgeland High School Football Head Coach and Campus Athletic Coordinator David Raffield is excited to be back home. Raffield helped open Cy Falls High School in 1992, taking over in 2003, and he is ... more Photo: C/o CFISD Communications Photo: C/o CFISD Communications Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close New Bridgeland head coach David Raffield envisions 'an incredibly competitive high school' 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

"It's a fast, exciting time."

New Bridgeland High School Football Head Coach and Campus Athletic Coordinator David Raffield's assessment of the fledgling high school's promise could be more broadly applied to Cy-Fair ISD Athletics on the whole.

The department made two big moves this week, also promoting former Cy Falls Football Head Coach Kirk Eaton to Associate Director of Athletics, and Eaton is unabashed in his endorsement of the new Bridgeland head coach, who isn't actually all that new to the coaches in Cy-Fair ISD.

"I was thrilled," Eaton said. "I'm not anything without David Raffield."

Eaton means that in a very literal sense. Raffield, a member of Cy Falls' 1992 inaugural coaching staff under head coach Wayne Hooks, took over the program in 2003. He approached Eaton, the youngest member of the Golden Eagles' coaching staff, to run the defense, and promoted current Langham Creek head coach Todd Thompson to offensive coordinator. With Eaton and Thompson, both relatively young, untested coaches prior to their promotions, at the coordinator positions, Raffield and the Golden Eagles went 56-39, advancing three and four games deep into the playoffs in the two years prior to reaching the state title game in 2006.

Raffield has an eye for coaching talent. But more than that, says Eaton, Raffield has a vision.

"Dave is a guy that, if he has one strength, it's that he's a visionary," Eaton said. "We were one of the first teams to run an up-tempo spread. There were offseason things we were doing that no one else were doing, character-development things. You can't argue with the success the man's had."

Eaton says that Cy Falls' lengthy, successful run under Raffield didn't happen by accident and wasn't due simply to an overabundance of talent. Raffield does things differently, constantly reexamining, refocusing and refining his approach. His ingenuity and resourcefulness are legendary, and the fuel that drives him is passion.

"He's a rolling ball of butcher knives," Eaton said. "He's very passionate and go-get-em and crazy and all those good things you want to see. I'd want my son or daughter to play for him. And he's coming back home."

Raffield is glad to be back home, and he is all in. His youngest son, Jake, will be a member of Bridgeland's first graduating class, a fact he commemorated by formulating the hashtag #BridgelandFirstClass. For the Raffields, it's good to be home.

"My youngest, all he's done is asked to come back," Raffield said. "It's home. Cypress is home to us. He's a current freshman, so he'll be opening Bridgeland. He's excited, and he can't wait."

Raffield spent the last six seasons as the head coach at A&M Consolidated, where he amassed a 46-26 record, which included a trip to the regional finals. The idea of a homecoming, with the opportunity to build a culture from the ground up, was so appealing that he forsook comfort, stability and success behind just for the chance at the Bridgeland job, without a firm offer or commitment in hand.

Raffield, himself, didn't know until Wednesday, and he wanted to be Bridgeland's first head coach so badly the suspense was interminable.

"Last Friday, we did the final interview, and it left me on pins and needles," Raffield said. "The final word came Wednesday afternoon. We had a coach's deal downtown at Rice for a Power of Influence meeting, and everybody there is like, 'hey, Raffield, where are you going?' And I didn't know yet."

As thrilled as Eaton and the other Cy-Fair ISD coaches who know and love Raffield are thrilled to have him back home again, Raffield is, if anything, more thrilled at what he sees as a unique and rare opportunity to set the trajectory of what he envisions as a world-class high school athletic program.

It starts with culture.

"The coolest thing is you get to create your own culture from day one," Raffield said. "You don't have to change the culture or adapt. You get to start it. And that begins with hiring quality people who have the same vision. That's what I'm excited about."

Culture largely comes down to coaching, and when it comes to building a staff, Raffield has the pick of the litter. The resources of Cy-Fair ISD and the Bridgeland community, combined with his already sterling legacy of success and integrity, has coaches flooding him with interest, vying for the opportunity to help implement his vision for the program.

"I'm getting hammered," Raffield said. "And that's good. The school district pays well. We expect high-quality people to come in. I get the cream of the crop to go through. It seems every hour, someone's hitting me, and I'm like, 'really? That dude's pretty good.' I've got some college coaches wanting to come with me. That's fun. It's going to be a great staff."

The pieces are just starting to come together, but Raffield has hit the ground running, and his goal is nothing short of sweeping, across-the-board domination in everything Bridgeland students put their hands to.

The expectations for Raffield could not be higher, but Eaton also says the man at the helm could not be better.

"The Xs and the Os are going to be top-notch," Eaton said. "The character development is going to be there. And then the academics and getting people to college, career-ready, he's at the forefront of a lot of that stuff, and he has been."

Raffield expects to win, and he cautions Bridgeland's future opponents to take note.

"My vision is to have this incredibly competitive high school in everything," Raffield said. "If we walk in the door, I don't care if it's a choir concert, you better get ready. Strap it on, because Bridgeland is here."

Bridgeland High School will open officially for the fall of 2017, and – along with Cy-Fair ISD's 11th campus, Cy Park – will begin varsity competition in the fall of 2018.