Photo by Jimmy Mitchell.
Briarwood head coach Fred Yancey during a game against Chelsea on Sept. 1, 2018, at Lions Pride Stadium in Birmingham.
Fred Yancey is still learning how to be retired, he says.
After coaching high school football for nearly 50 years, the longtime Briarwood Christian School coach has had to figure out how to fill his time the last two years.
“I do enjoy being on my own schedule and that’s fun, going to bed at night knowing I don’t have to get up at a certain time,” Yancey said.
He has attempted to be helpful around the house and spend more time with his children and grandchildren, along with his usual church-related activities.
Yancey said he will always miss being on the sidelines on Friday nights and leading a program like he did at Briarwood for 29 years.
“If I had coached until I was 99, I would’ve still come up with, ‘Yes, I’ll miss coaching on the sidelines,’” Yancey said. “It’s that much of a challenge and that much fun and that much excitement to be a part of it.”
But his incredible success over all those years led to his induction into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in March.
Yancey took over as head coach at Briarwood in 1990 and led the program to the playoffs each of his last 26 years, a streak that ranks among the most impressive in the state in any category.
Briarwood won state championships in 1998, 1999 and 2003 under Yancey, and the Lions came within a few plays of achieving a fourth one in 2018. Yancey compiled a 278-94 overall record in those 29 seasons.
While his teams at Briarwood always had great success on the field, Yancey aimed to develop his players emotionally and spiritually as well.
“I really hope that if anybody remembers me for anything, it’s that I really tried to point them in the right direction, and that’s to the Lord,” he said in 2018.
Yancey was inducted along with 11 others at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel in March as part of the 2020 class. COVID-19 forced the delay of last year’s ceremony until this year, and the hall of fame decided to honor them in lieu of adding a 2021 class to the ceremony as well.
“I knew it would be nice, because it was put on by the AHSAA,” Yancey said. “I was just blown away by how much time and effort that so many people put into making that such a special deal.”
Yancey expressed his gratitude particularly to Byrle Kynerd, who was the superintendent at Briarwood for 31 years and hired Yancey. Yancey said Kynerd hired nearly all of his assistant coaches over the years because he had a natural eye for talented people that would fit the culture at Briarwood.
“He had a real eye for and an understanding of what a good school ought to look like,” Yancey said.
After the 2018 season, Yancey handed the reins of the program over to Matthew Forester, who played for Yancey at Briarwood and coached under him for many years as well. The Lions’ playoff streak is still intact, and the program has nary skipped a beat.
“He had a great background and has a wonderful understanding of the Briarwood Christian School community and what’s important,” Yancey said.
There are many fond memories Yancey has of all years of coaching, and the hall of fame distinction will certainly be one of them.
“I’ve sure enjoyed a wonderful run at it,” he said.
