Send a shout out to Dave Brenner folks, the gentleman who will lead Branson into the worlds game next August when the Pirates field a boys soccer team for the first time. Dave, who will also coach the girls team that will begin play in the Spring 2009 season, joins the Pirates from the Nixa Eagles where he has been assisting Evan Palmer since the Fall of 2001. The only photo of him I’ve captured however has him focused on the Eagles (he’s on the left) so I’ll rectify that at the next Eagles game I attend.

Dave already has a schedule with 14 games lined up for the Fall, including a weekend trip to Kansas City to take on Cole Camp and Smithton. He pointed to the trip as one of the numerous examples of the steps Branson is taking to embrace and support soccer. The enthusiasm from the community, including a large Hispanic contingent, ensures that he’ll have a good pool of players to work with from the beginning. The initial informational meetings have already happened and summer plans are also being put into place.

Home games will be played at the Jr High School, a bermuda/rye mix that has locker rooms, a press box and the other amenties that come with being the former home of the Pirates football team. The other great news is that there will now be an official Central Ozark Conference title chase to count on with the addition of Carthage, Nesho and Webb City as well as the Pirates.

I asked Nixa Eagles coach Evan Palmer (a former SMSU player) to share his thoughts on Dave:

I can’t give Dave enough praise. He has been a great assistant and will make a great head soccer coach. He already is a great head coach leading the Volley Eagles to a district title last fall. He takes great pride in what he does and will work hard to make Branson a contender. Branson is getting a great addition to their teaching and coaching staffs. Dave and Michelle (his wife) will be missed in the district.

Dave initially worked with the boys and the girls at Nixa but as Evan notes, he took over the volleyball team a few years ago which conflicted with the boys season. He’s been working with the girls soccer team for the entire period.

Dave will teach History at Branson along with his coaching responsibilities. He’s a 1981 Glendale graduate, where he played defense on the club soccer teams at Glendale before it became an official sport. He also played Rugby for SMS, something he picked up as an exchange student in South Africa in 1981, in addition to intramural soccer through college (became a mid-fielder and then a goalie). He continues to play one or two sessions a year in the over thirty indoor league at Lake Country Soccer.

Welcome and congratulations Dave!