Addy Byars named new Milan girls basketball coach

One month after Fred Morris resigned, Milan has found a new coach to lead the girls basketball team. And the administration found someone familiar to West Tennessee.

Addy (Greer) Byars has been named the new girls basketball coach for the Bulldogs.

“Over her eleven-year career, Coach Byars has experience as a head coach at both the high school and middle school levels,” Milan principal Jennifer Yates said. “We were looking for someone willing to invest in our girls and community for the long term and believe we have found that in Coach Byars. We look forward to the energy and excitement that she will bring to our girls program”

Byars is excited for the opportunity with the Lady Bulldogs.

“I talked to Dr. (Jennifer) Yates, and my vision with what I wanted to do aligned with what she wanted to do and the potential with the community that I familiar with,” Byars said. “When this popped up, I was interested in talking with her and seeing what they wanted.”

Byars played her high school basketball at West Carroll, where she broke the TSSAA record for blocks in a season with 200. She was an all-state player for the Lady War Eagles. She went on to play college basketball at UT Martin.

This is her second head coaching position on the high school level as she coached Bruceton girls basketball from 2011-14.

For the past seven seasons, Byars has been the girls basketball coach at Lakewood Middle School in Buchanan.

The Lady Bulldogs went 1-21 last season in Morris’ only season in charge.

“One of my favorite basketball sayings is ‘basketball is a marathon, not a sprint,'” Byars said. “We have to find a balance of being able to have some success this year to take care of the older girls while also building for the future. So we are going to lay the foundation early as to what I want this culture to be, that will help us establish some things that that girls will take pride in, and that will help us build something great for the future.”

So what is Byars going to try and come in and do over the summer?

“I am a big fundamentals person,” Byars said. “I like to say that my middle school team is a fundamental factory. Focusing on fundamentals while also learning to compete will be a good place to start.”

She also wants the female athletes at Milan to have a desire to be a part of the culture of the girls basketball program.

“I talked with Dr. Yates about how I hope my enthusiasm attracts some more girls to come out,” Byars said. “If they know me at all, they will know how much I love basketball and how we are going to have fun, have neat experiences, so getting them interested is half of the battle.”