• “Dr. Defense” has helped the Braves win five of the last nine state titles.
This past season, Star Valley High School assistant coach and defensive coordinator, Kelly Merritt, was on the campus of the University of Wyoming. He and other coaches were learning techniques and other various informational aspects of football when Wyoming Coach Craig Bohl came in the room and announced that Merritt was the winner of the Ted Broyles Award for top assistant coach in the state of Wyoming.
Since then, the Braves defended their state title, which included a 27-0 shutout for Merritt’s defense in the title game. Also the trip to Little Rock, Arkansas to receive the award and be honored along with his wife Brook, Executive VP and CFO for the Bank of Star Valley.
“It was a bigger thing than I thought it was,” Merritt responded. “It was so well organized and it was a great experience to get away. I’m not a big individual awards person but it was unique and much appreciated.”
The Merritts appreciated the more temperate weather this time of year and the “down to earth” people they interacted with.
The Broyles Award has been around for more than 30 years, but since 2018, the organization has revamped and rebranded the recognition to more fully recognize the role of high school coaches in the process of player development.
“I didn’t know what to expect out of this,” Merritt added. “The Broyles Award has been around for a long time and I was vaguely aware of it but in the high school ranks they’ve done a lot to increase the attention of it. There were around 30 award winners there. It was a nice ceremony and we got to meet and mingle with the college finalists and then attended the televised luncheon of the college finalists.”
According to Merritt the most exciting thing didn’t have anything to do with the award itself.
“The thing I was most excited about was I was able to fit into my suit that I hadn’t worn since I was a missionary,” he laughed.
Merritt also deferred credit for the award to the staff on which he coaches and the to the players who play for them.
“I feel like it’s part of our culture,” he said, “That sounds cliché but it’s special to have a nationally recognized award in any capacity so I view this as a notch in the belt of the Star Valley Braves. I think what I take away from it was the chance to be around some other good coaches.”
Secretly though?
“Maybe some of those contacts are people we can call if we’re running into issues on defense,” he laughed.
Merritt summed up the award as such;
“It’s hard to recognize one individual when we’ve been good on both sides of the ball. I feel it’s a special group of individuals that coach that team and I’m proud to be part of it. It’s a reflection of the culture and the staff. We get good kids and good athletes and we enjoy it.”
