A milestone for a classy coach: John Byrne gets 600th win

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER

You meet a lot of people in this business and sometimes you come across somebody who is just in the right place at the right time and finds his niche.

That's pretty much the way it has been for John Byrne and the Moravian College women's softball team.

Byrne has a background in other sports, most notably baseball, but he was the perfect choice to build Moravian into one of the best NCAA Division III softball programs in the country.

Few people I know have a better perspective when it comes to dealing with kids and their parents, and Byrne has not only been a tremendous recruiter -- especially with Lehigh Valley-grown talent -- but also with finding a way to get the most out of that talent. I can't think of anyone who has been as successful as Byrne at the local collegiate level over the past 20 years or so.

Perhaps only Central Catholic girls basketball coach Mike Kopp and Emmaus field hockey coach Sue Butz-Stavin have been as successful in their chosen fields overall on the local scene.

Anyway, kudos to Byrne, a guy who certainly has gotten it right. And I have a feeling we could be seeing him reach 900 or 1,000 wins before he's through.

Here's the release from Moravian on his milestone attained on Monday with a doubelehader sweep of Delaware Valley:

Moravian College Head Softball Coach John Byrne picked up his 600th career victory Monday in the second game of a non-conference doubleheader sweep at Delaware Valley College as the Greyhounds won the first game 7-2 and took the nightcap 4-1 to extend their winning streak to seven games.

Byrne becomes the 14th active NCAA Division III softball coach and the 20th Division III coach of all-time to reach 600 career wins. Byrne has a record of 600-189 in his 19th season as Moravian’s head coach that has seen him lead the program to three NCAA Division III World Series appearances with a runner-up finish in 2004, 13 NCAA Division III playoff berths, 15 conference playoff appearances and 14 conference championships including the first four Landmark Conference titles.

Byrne entered the 2012 season as the 15th winningest softball coach in NCAA history among all NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III in winning percentage. Bryne started the year with a .760 winning percentage at 581-182. Of the 14 coaches ahead of Byrne in winning percentage, ten are still active coaches and four are fellow Division III coaches. The list includes Mike Candrea, the head coach at The University of Arizona, and it is led by John Tschida, the head coach at the University of St. Thomas (Minn.), who defeated Byrne for 2004 national title.