The Hopewell Vikings High School Girls soccer program has a new person in charge and it’s a familiar name.
Martin Byrnes has been hired to replace Victor Ndinyah, who coached the team for the last 3 seasons.
Byrnes has been a teacher in the Hopewell School District since 1996 and previously coached the Hopewell Girls soccer team from 2005-16.
Byrnes not only coached the Vikings, but they enjoyed quite a bit of success during his 11 years.
BYRNES 1ST TENURE AT HOPEWELL
*Played in WPIAL championship game
*Two WPIAL 3rd-place finishes
*A section championship
*Eight WPIAL playoff appearances
*Three PIAA tournament appearances
*Collected over 130 wins
Byrnes coaching experience goes well beyond his time at Hopewell as he previously was girls head coach at Beaver (1998-2002) and assistant coach at both Beaver boys (2003-04) and Blackhawk boys (1996-97).
At the club and youth level, he has coached for Beadling SC, Arsenal FC, HASA, and the Elite Soccer School, among others.
Byrnes not only has experience coaching but has also enjoyed success on the field as well.
In 1990, he represented the US Eastern Region for TEAMS/USA in European competition. After training in Holland under Dutch and American coaches, he played in international youth tournaments in Denmark, Sweden, and Scotland, where he was selected as the teams’ MVP.
Byrnes was member of the Beaver High School soccer team and was named team captain during his senior season and a member of the “Finest Fifteen” from the section.
Byrnes graduated from the University of Dayton in 1995 and earned his Master’s Degree in English at Slippery Rock in 2006.