Business teacher Gene Liebel was not only a  great student at Fallston High School, he was also an excellent athlete. Although he played other sports, football was his focus.

“I focused on football because it’s the biggest team game,” said Liebel, “You have to rely on your teammates to be successful.”

Liebel was a running back and played recreational football for 7 years and all four years in high school. Sports were important to him but so were his grades. Liebel juggled football, wrestling and school work and still managed to maintain a 4.19 GPA.

College wasn’t much different. At Towson University, Liebel played football for all four years and finished with a 3.93 GPA. He learned from his teachers in class and from his coach on the field.

“I learned that it’s more about technique and strategy,” said Liebel.

When a position opened up at North Harford High School for the varsity football coach, Liebel jumped at the opportunity. In the open interview, he made it a point that he was going to work on making the team a better group of people first and a better team second.

Liebel enjoyed his first season as the varsity football coach and is looking forward to the years to come.

“I learned we had a lot of pride in our school and that our team is dedicated to each other,” said Liebel. “These guys were a lot of fun to be around.”