By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports Report
ATHENS — It's been nearly a quarter-century since someone other than Jake Lezak roamed the Athens sidelines as the head boys soccer coach, but in 2025 one of his former charges — Travis Reynard — will begin a new era of Wildcat soccer.
Reynard, a 2021 grad of Athens, graduated from Penn State-Harrisburg and now teaches at Wyalusing.
Reynard said things worked out perfectly for him to end up back in Athens.
"I've always followed in (Jake) Lezak's footsteps, he's been a mentor coaching through youth.
"This freshman group is actually the first group I started coaching at the U-10 level, so I've had them all the way up through," said Reynard.
"When the opportunity opened up, Lezak was kind of hoping to pass it my way," noted Reynard. "I came back looking for a teaching job. I love the area, and I love the program and wanted to still be a part of it.
"When I was offered the job, I figured 'why not,'" added Reynard.
Having played for Lezak it only figures Reynard will implement the same philosophies, but Reynard notes he won't be a carbon copy.
"You're going to see a lot of the same things, but I'm also going to bring in some of my own ideas and change some things up," he said.
"Talking with some of the players, they mentioned that goal scoring was a bit of a problem last year.
"We return a very strong group, and will have an emphasis on goal scoring," added Reynard. "Different ways of moving players around to create more opportunities for goals will be a big difference."
Reynard admits there is some pressure replacing Lezak, who coached Athens for 21 years.
"They are big shoes to fill," he said. "Everyone in this area knows how much he's put into this program, and the numbers of accomplishments he had.
"He's told me I have all his support, and if I need anything I can reach out to him.
"They are definitely big shoes to fill, and I know no one will ever be Jake Lezak," added Reynard.
Athens opens the regular season Aug. 27 at home against Northeast Bradford.
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IN PHOTO: New Athens boys soccer coach Travis Reynard.
