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Windham goes with Byrne

Jack Byrne has been selected to replace Bill Raycraft as Windham High School’s varsity football coach, the school announced Tuesday.

Byrne, a Litchfield resident, is no stranger to the Windham program
having been on staff as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach since its inception in 2009. He will take over a program that moved up to Division I last season after several successful years in Division II.

Raycraft, who is in his final year as Windham High School’s athletic director, resigned as the varsity football coach earlier this year.

“I’m excited to keep moving forward in Windham,” Byrne said. “We have such hard-working kids who are great people off the field. Windham is very special to me and my family. Windham High School gave me my first shot as a teacher, and the people of Windham High School and the Windham community
have always been there for us.

“Coach Raycraft is an impossible act to follow in terms of leadership and character, but we will take what we’ve learned from him and keep building on what he started. Our coaching staff is full of high-character people who are passionate about helping kids, and we are so lucky to have this group coming back. These kids have been through a lot over the past few months, and they have been strong, tough, and first-class through all of it, which shows the caliber of our players as people.”

Byrne, who teaches in the human performance department at Windham High School, played at Tewksbury (Mass.) High School and at Tufts University. He was an assistant coach at Bedford (Mass.) High School in 2005 and at Tewksbury High in 2006, and then served as the defensive line coach at Summit High School in Breckenridge, Col., from 2007 to 2009. This fall will be his 10th season with the Windham program.

Byrne is also an assistant wrestling coach at Windham High School and serves
as the strength and conditioning coach for football and sever other Jaguar sports.

“We are thrilled and confident that Coach Byrne will continue to do great things for the program and all of the athletes,” Raycraft said. “He is committed to developing athletes on and off the field. When you look at how Coach Byrne connects and inspires the students, you know they’ll be prepared to give it their all each and every week. Personally, I could not think of a more qualified and dedicated individual to take over the program.”

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