Published: 12:21 PM, Tue May 18, 2010
Douglas Byrd hires two new basketball coaches
Douglas Byrd named new coaches in boys' and girls' basketball Monday, replacing a pair of veteran coaches who are stepping down.
Phil Hart, former head coach at Westover and Pine Forest High Schools, will take over the boys' program from Todd Edge. Brandon Kimble, who is currently working at Knightdale High School in Wake County, will replace Tony Denning as coach of the girls' team.
The announcement was made Monday by Byrd athletic director Troy Lindsey.
Edge spent 25 years at Byrd, the last 16 as boys' basketball coach. He is stepping down so he can transfer to a teaching job at Cape Fear High School, where his daughter is a member of the Colt basketball team.
"I've been taking care of other people's kids for years,'' Edge said. "I wanted to see her play.''
Edge's teams made the state 4-A playoffs eight of his 16 years as coach, including the last four years in a row. His final team finished the season 12-14.
Hart took a year off from coaching high school basketball last season and worked at Anne Chesnutt Middle School.
He said the year away from the game was an eye-opener and he's happy to be back working with high school athletes again.
"I went to some games last season,'' he said. "I missed it and wanted to get back in it.''
Hart plans to meet with the returning members of the Byrd team today, then begin preparations for organizing a summer workout program.
"We just want to be competitive every night and hope we win some ball games,'' Hart said.
More time with family
Denning became Byrd's girls' coach in 2007 after a highly successful career at Midway High School in Sampson County.
Now that Denning's daughter has finished high school, Lindsey said Denning was looking to get out of coaching and spend more time with his family.
Kimble, the new girls' coach, served as an assistant with the boys' program at Knightdale but has coached girls' basketball before. "He's energetic, a well-spoken young man,'' Lindsey said. "He's got some family connections to the Fayetteville area.
"He knows the history of the competitive girls' basketball here and he's real excited about coming aboard.''
Lindsey said both coaches would most likely begin work officially sometime in July or August, once their contracts at their current schools had expired.
Scholastic sports editor Earl Vaughan Jr. can be reached at vaughane@fayobserver.com or 486-3519.