During the fall, Friday nights are known to students as football gamedays. Although a lot of emphasis is put on the football players and cheerleaders, it is often forgotten that there are a multitude of people working behind the scenes to ensure that the games run smoothly. One of the most important people that flies under the radar is Bill Hildbold, the commentator for the Woodgrove football games. Hildbold has spent the past 50 years as a coach, mathematics teacher, athletic director, and commentator.

During his time at Woodson High School, Hildbold received his varsity letters for football, wrestling, and track, and when he was accepted into the University of Notre Dame, Hildbold continued to wrestle and even joined the rowing team. It was there at Notre Dame that Hildbold’s passion for coaching began. When he was injured during his senior year, Hildbold went to one of the local high schools, Penn High School, and helped coach one of the wrestling programs. After he graduated, he moved back to Fairfax County where he taught mathematics and coached football, wrestling, track, baseball, and soccer at McLean High School.

Throughout his career, Hildbold coached at a total of five schools, and during his time as a coach he led multiple sport teams to win district, regional, and state championships, and was nominated for multiple awards (many of which he received), and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. During his time at Herndon High School, Hildbold was the school’s athletic director, a title that put him in charge of all athletic aspects of the school. He worked for about 12 hours every day, unless there was a nighttime event, in which he would end up staying later after school as well. However, the only time his schedule would change was during Friday night football games. While his son was playing football at Notre Dame, Hildbold and his family would go and watch him play every Saturday. After overseeing the high school game and ensuring everything ran smoothly, Hildbold and his wife would spend the night driving to Indiana.“We would get in the car and drive for about 10 hours in the middle of the night so that I could go and see my son play the next day,” Hildbold expressed. While an athletic director, Hildbold was not only nominated for the State Athletic Director of the Year award in both 2004 and 2005, but he also had a scholarship called the “Bill Hildbold Scholarship” endowed for the seniors in his name.

After retiring from Fairfax County Public Schools in 2005, Hildbold taught and coached at three more schools until he retired from Frederick County Public Schools in 2019. Hildbold then came to Woodgrove High School, where he assisted in not only coaching the football team to become State Champions in 2018, but also the wrestling team to become State Champions in both 2024 and 2025. Although he has announced for a multitude of sports sparingly for the past 50 years of his life, Hildbold began his career as a Woodgrove commentator in 2022. Thanks to his athletic background, announcing comes naturally to Hildbold. “You don’t usually get somebody who has the background to come in and be an announcer or commentator for any particular type of sport, because they may not know enough about them,” Hildbold explained. 

Since 2022, Hildbold has been present at each of Woodgrove’s football games, commentating on football players, cheerleaders, and just the game in general. However, being the announcer for every home game is not just an opportunity for Hildbold to stay connected and involved with the games, but it is also a chance for him and his daughter, Mrs. Melanie Badillo, to spend time together. As the Head Varsity Cheerleading Coach, Badillo is present at every football game, coaching her girls throughout the night. After spending her time in high school on the cheerleading team, Badillo’s passion for cheer, paired with her father’s lifetime profession as a coach, inspired her to continue with cheerleading as a coach. “My dad being a coach, and a multi-sport one at that, has been so rewarding to watch. He is the best example of doing the right thing by kids,” Badillo expressed. “It definitely influenced my decision to coach.”

At each of the football games, Hildbold ensures that the people working behind the scenes are given the representation that they deserve by announcing their names at the beginning of the game. “You’ll hear me announce all of the people there: the crew, the spotter that I have, the stats people, the trainers, and everybody else, but I never say my name, that way I stay out of the whole thing,” Hildbold explained. For the football players, Hilbold’s commentations contribute greatly to the atmosphere on the field. Although it is only his second season on the team, sophomore Eli Smallwood believes that Hildbold’s commentations have an impact on the players.  “It can help with energy, like when he calls out a player’s name. It helps to get people more excited,” Smallwood stated.

Throughout his lifetime, Hildbold has successfully left a lasting impact on the youth of multiple schools across Virginia through coaching, teaching, and commentating. As stated by all who know him, Hildbold is truly a jack of all trades.