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Yampa Valley coach of the year: David Bruner exhibits a passion for all seasons

Joel Reichenberger
Soroco football, girls basketball and track coach David Bruner brings an intensity to every game from the sidelines, but his programs have been built with a steady hand throughout several years.
Courtesy Photo

All-seasons Soroco coach David Bruner wasn’t at the helm of any state championship runs this year. None of his teams even won their league.

Still, it’s hard to discount the job Bruner did this season, guiding the football, girls basketball and track teams to some of their best seasons.

In football, the Rams just missed their first league title in forever and beat rival Hayden for the first time in a decade. In basketball, the Soroco girls recorded the most wins in program history, 16, and ran all the way to the regional championship game.



The track team, too, was successful, winning three medals at the state meet in Lakewood. Bruner wasn’t actually there to enjoy the fruits of that track season, but that said plenty about what he’s accomplished with the program. He was at home sick, and the athletes repeatedly commented about how much they missed his strategy, tips and critiques. The groundwork Bruner laid throughout the spring proved enough as the athletes still realized success on that big stage.

Bruner brings an intensity to his games from the sidelines — cheering, jumping, yelling and pumping his fists. His programs, however, have been built with a steady hand that gets the most out of the small pool of Soroco students by encouraging mass participation.



It’s not for one strong coaching performance that Bruner is the Yampa Valley coach of the year, but for three. And it’s not for one year, it’s for all of them, because none of the success his teams realized this year happened overnight.


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