Lady Pioneer soccer coach steps down
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Brownyard will walk away from his position with three District 7-AAA tournament finals appearances, including one tournament victory. During his tenure the Lady Pioneers also captured two regular season District 7-AAA championships and three Region 4 semifinal appearances.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself as a coach in making sure I am doing everything I can to help the team. Right now I feel it’s time to take a break,” Brownyard said.
“I really enjoy coaching, and have fun watching as each player gets better as they go through their high school career. But right now I just need to step back and have fun watching it from the sideline, not as a head coach. I want to be able to spend more time with my family. My son will be old enough to play AYSO soccer next year and I want to enjoy watching him play.”
Coach Brownyard still wants to stay involved with the game, and said soccer will always be a part of his life — but not as a head coach.
“Over the last year or so I have gotten were I don’t enjoy the game as much as I do coaching it,” he said. “So now I can take some time off and start enjoying the game itself again. I still want to help out in any way that I can. But not with the pressure of being a head coach, I just need a break from that responsibility right now.”
With Brownyard stepping down, coach Charlie Hardee, who served as an assistant coach this year and is the head coach of the boys’ team, will take over as head coach pending board approval.
“Coach Hardee has really helped me out this year,” Brownyard said. “We were able to bounce different ideas off each other, and that made my job a lot easier. I told coach Hardee I would be willing to help him out next year, but only as a volunteer. If somebody needs some help and I am able to, I will be more than glad to help out. I am going to stay in the game of soccer but I will be enjoying it more as a spectator.”
Brownyard expressed his appreciation to this year’s team, which finished as co-champions of district 7 and were runner-up in the district tournament, as well as the boosters and others who have helped the program during his career.
“I had a good group of kids this year. They all worked very hard and should be proud of their success,” he said. “I had a great group of parents who helped out in many ways. They worked together and got the kids to all of the away games because we didn’t use busses this year. They gave this team and myself support all year.
“I want to thank everybody for making this such a great year, and I will greatly miss that part of coaching.”