Steve Fairchild / Sports Writer | Posted: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 12:00 am
After leading Arroyo Grande High School/s boys basketball team to two league championships, coach Jeff Byars announced that he is stepping down as head coach of the program.
Arroyo Grande Athletic Director Jim Fogarty made the announcement Tuesday.
"Eighteen years is a lot of games and a lot of practices and a lot of kids to work with," Byars said during a phone interview.
"It was time for me to see what Christmas break was like and a real summer. I thought it was the right time for me," he said.
Byars said he made the decision last week. He will still continue as the school/s golf coach and will continue to teach business classes.
"I/m not going anywhere," he said. "I love where I work and don/t have any plans to go anywhere else."
Byars played basketball at Arroyo Grande High School under coach Mario Pecile and went on to play football at Cal Poly.
He coached the girls basketball program for five years in the late 1980s, leading the Lady Eagles to two league championships. He then coached the lower level boys and coached the varsity team for nine years.
The Eagles finished last season with a record of 9-16 overall and 3-9 in the PAC-5 League. He coached the boys program to league titles in back-to-back years between 1999 and 2001.
He has been coaching golf for 11 years.
Byars would not speculate on who will replace him as head basketball coach, but he said he told Fogarty he would help make the transition smooth.
Byars said he still enjoys talking to his old players and plans to continue to be a part of their lives.
"That/s one of the things about coaching that people don/t understand," Byars added. "Former players invite you to their weddings and tell you about having their kids. That will continue and that is a rewarding part of the job."
March 24, 2004