With school getting out across the region during these late spring weeks, there has also been some significant movement with coaches and athletes, heading towards the 2018 season.
Late coaching moves are never ideal, but that is exactly the case at Ygnacio Valley, where the Mt. Diablo Unified School District let go of Clyde Byrd late last week. Byrd was headed towards his second year as head coach for the Warriors, having guided them into the playoffs last year.
Byrd is replaced by on-campus teacher Bryan Shaw, who was previously the head coach and athletic director at Mt. Diablo High, before taking a couple years off to spend more time with his wife and young children, which includes a five-year old and four-year old twins. Shaw will be the interim coach for the 2018 season, allowing the Warriors to make a permanent decision after the season.
Two other finalized changes have occurred in the last month at Kennedy-Richmond and Hercules. Former defensive coordinator Greg Marshall is now the head coach at Kennedy, where he has been on staff for the past couple years under previous head coach George Jackson, who left the team prior to the end of last season.
At Hercules, former Washington-SF coach Karl Finley had been tabbed as the guy to replace Gerald Montgomery, but resigned shortly after accepting the position. The Titans are now led by former Pinole assistant Larry De Mons.
Big transfer announcement
Now-former San Ramon Valley tight end Koby Gross has moved to Pittsburg, and is now enrolled at Pittsburg High. The 6-foot-4 incoming senior figures to be yet another weapon in a loaded group for the Pirates, who return Trey Turner at quarterback, coming off a knee injury which caused him to miss the 2017 season, and will have dynamic weapons such as Justin Boyd and Willie Harts III at receiver, Premier Murphy at running back, plus first-team all-league linemen Jacob Bandes, Giovanni Spinelli, and Isaias Sierra back up front.
According to Gross, it was a full family move, which would make him eligible right away to start the season.
Another reported transfer was the move back to Kennedy-Richmond by incoming senior Tyrik Daniels. Daniels was an all-league player for the Eagles in 2016 as a sophomore, then transferred to Ygnacio Valley and was an immediate impact player there last season, but the family has moved back to Richmond and he will once again wear the Kennedy uniform, as they look for their third straight league title.
Headed to the finals
A pair of NCS standouts received invitations to The Opening finals, which will take place in Texas from June 30-July 3. The Student Sports-sponsored event will feature the aforementioned Bandes, one of the top defensive line recruits in the country, along with Bishop O’Dowd running back Austin Jones. Both athletes are targeted by high profile schools across the nation.
