Byrd will coach girls soccer team next year, too
Coach O’Brien Byrd watches his team run drills on the first day of practice in this file photo.
Columbia Falls boys soccer coach O’Brien Byrd will coach both the girls and boys soccer teams next season. The School District 6 board last week approved the hire.
Byrd said he’s excited for the opportunity and also acknowledged the great work coach Greg Trenerry and his assistant coaches did over the past two decades.
“I want to honor Greg,” he said. “He’s given so much to this program. I believe I have big shoes to fill.”
Trenerry’s teams made the playoffs 16 years, had two second-place finishes in 2012 and 2014, a third place finish in 2003 and one championship in 2004. The Wildkats won six of the last eight Northern A conference titles as well.
Trenerry resigned after last season with a career record of 174-78-26.
“I’m simply excited at the opportunity to apply my philosophy to a talented and eager group of young athletes in our community,” Byrd said.
Byrd, a Columbia Falls native and standout soccer player in his youth, has a long and distinguished coaching career himself.
He coached the Whitefish Bulldogs boys team beginning in 2003 and led them to state titles in 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2012. The Bulldogs had back-to-back undefeated seasons in 2006 and 2007 and at one point had a 42-game winning streak.
He’s coached the Columbia Falls boys team for two years now, leading them to their first conference title in 11 years last season.
Byrd said another aspect that attracted him to the girls coaching job was his family — his oldest daughter Zoey will be in high school in two years.
The girls have a talented squad returning, including Hannah Gedlaman, Kaylee Ashe and Josie Windauer to name a few. They also have a strong freshmen class.
The team will likely play doubleheaders most of the regular season, he noted. But the playoffs, if the teams make it, could prove a bit trickier. Having one coach for two programs as happened before in Columbia Falls. Cary Finberg coached both the boys and girls basketball teams for several seasons. In the soccer world, Billing’s Central’s Didier Ndedi coaches both boys and girls. In 2015, he caught a flight so he could coach the girls in Billings and then flew to Polson to coach the boys in the playoffs.