As the intercom crackled on at the beginning of fourth hour Friday, principal Amy Murphy informed BVNW of head girls soccer coach Rick Pribyl being named as National Girls’ Soccer Coach of the Year Large Class by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. According to  athletic director Steve Harms, Pribyl is the first BVNW coach to earn this honor.

“It’s a tremendous honor,” Harms said. “And well deserved. The nice thing about coaches honors are, it goes past coach Pribyl and goes out to the entire program and coaching staff. Coaches don’t get honored for poor teams. It’s also a reflection of the girls themselves. It’s just a good thing all around.”

Pribyl said he was completely shocked when he found out he won, and attributes it to the players and his assistant coaches.

“The players actually played the game, I just watched,” Pribyl said. “My assistant coaches have been phenomenal.”

Senior goalkeeper Scout Watson (Colorado State commit) said she believes Pribyl was very deserving of the award. Although Pribyl did not tell his team or fellow coaches he won, Watson said the entire team was very happy for him when they heard.

“He always knows what to work on with us,” Watson said. “He’s a great coach. He’s not mean, but he’s to the point. Everyone always pays attention to whatever he’s saying, he has great authority over everyone. He totally deserves it.”

Pribyl will be honored at a national conference in Philadelphia in February for the award.

“I’m still not used to it,” Pribyl said. “The trouble about such awards is; the old saying that the higher up you are the farther you fall. It’s something to keep in mind. It’s the quest that counts, not the reward. I didn’t know there would be an award. It’s only taken 52 high school seasons of boys and girls to get here.”