LAGRANGE, Ind. - Prairie Heights High School has a new athletic director in alumnus, teacher and coach Brent Byler.
Byler’s hiring was approved last week by the Prairie Height Community Schools board. Byler replaces longtime athletic director Bryce Heller, who retired at the end of this past school year.
Byler has an extensive background as a student-athlete, teacher and coach. He graduated from Prairie Heights in 1996, and played tennis, basketball and baseball for the Panthers. He taught science and math in the district the last two years, and had coached high school boys tennis and various middle school sports. He graduated from Tri-State University, where he played baseball. Before returning to Prairie Heights, Byler taught and coached at Fremont High School for 15 years - starting the boys and girls tennis programs.
“I couldn’t be happier to be in the town I grew up in and in the school I grew up in,” Byler tells ParkviewSportsMedicine.com. “I’ve loved Panther athletics for a long time.”
Byler has jumped right into his athletic director duties, hiring Taylor Terry as girls basketball coach and Todd Watkins as boys basketball coach.
“All the programs are for the kids,” Byler adds. “My goal is to be here to assist and serve athletes, coaches and the community.”
Growing up in LaGrange County, Byler says he appreciates not only the Panther pride of the smaller communities that make up Prairie Heights, but also the competition and sportsmanship that comes along with being members of the Northeast Corner Conference.
Prairie Heights is one of 25 high schools in the region that partners with Parkview Sports Medicine’s integrated sports medicine team to provide athletic training, nutrition, athletic rehabilitation, orthopedic and other services to student-athletes.