Athlete of the Year: Damiere Byrd

If Damiere Byrd was only a football player, observers would be unable to stop marveling at his speed—scouts have clocked him as high as 4.3 in the 40—or the way he plays much bigger than his 5-foot-9-inch frame would suggest.

Jump on YouTube to take a look at one of his gridiron highlight reels. There's enough there to get any football fan excited.

If he was only a track star, it would be a similarly long conversation.

Byrd was the top U.S. Juniors Team finisher at the Germany-Japan-USA Trilateral Indoor Junior Meet in Japan in February with a blazing 6.76 time. He then won the New Balance Indoor Nationals in New York in mid-March in 6.74 seconds.

He capped his high-school career by winning the 100 meters at the New Jersey Meet of Champions less than two weeks ago.

Byrd isn't one or the other—a football player or a track star. He is both, and this year he was dominant in both.

It's that dominance in two sports that makes Byrd the first-ever Gloucester Township Patch Athlete of the Year. 

Byrd's win in the Meet of Champions 100 on June 9 also earned him the Patch Athlete of the Spring Season title.

Some may look at Byrd's career stats and think that he's just another kid with amazing talent.

He's more than that, though, according to those who know him best.

"It was one of the most memorable coaching experiences that I have had," Timber Creek football head coach Robert Hinson said. "He was a kid who was obviously blessed with some God given talents, but the one thing most people don't know is how hard the kid works."

Byrd was seen out in front of the Erial school, running drills by himself, just a few hours before The Timber Creek graduation ceremony last Thursday.

"That's kind of been how he has been over the last four years," Hinson said.

Byrd credits his mother, Dana Byrd, for helping mold him into the young man who is about to take his talents to the Southeastern Conference and the University of South Carolina, where he will play football and run track.

"My mom," Byrd said, "raised me to have the mindset that I can do whatever I want in life. So she really helped with the mental part of my personality."

During his senior year playing for Hinson's Chargers, Byrd's work ethic translated into remarkable production on the field. His 84 combined touches (32 receptions, 52 rushes) earned him 1,611 total yards from scrimmage and a staggering 20 touchdowns. His explosive first step became feared among other Olympic Conference schools, and it was common to hear opposing defensive coordinators screaming his number all night long.

One of those nights came back in October, when the Chargers traveled to play Seneca on a Friday night just before Halloween. While it was a game Seneca edged out the Chargers, 28-23, Byrd found the end zone multiple times—once by air, another on the ground and a third on special teams.

"Our Seneca away game, when I scored three times," Byrd said in response to being asked to pick one of the moments he will take with him from his senior season on the gridiron. "One was a punt return. The whole season I was waiting to be able to return one and I finally was able to."

On the track, Byrd has simply been a force. He says he has no preference of events—he just likes to go out and run.

"In track," Byrd said, "I love the toughness you need to run. A toughness that most people don't know you need."

Byrd's running took him quite a distance this past school year, making it as far as Japan for the Trilateral Indoor Junio Meet.

His personal favorite moment came stateside, back in March.

"I think the National Championship I won indoors is the biggest one. It's an individual thing," he said, "that nobody can ever take away from you."

Byrd's exploits as a runner have gotten so much attention that there has been very real talk of him earning a place on the U.S. Olympics team over the next few years.

When asked about the possibility of being a part of the U.S. Olympics team, Byrd admitted it appealed to him.

"I definitely want to try it out. I got a taste of running on a U.S. team already and the experience was amazing. I can only imagine what it would be like participating in something that everyone in the world watches," he said.

Still, it is what Byrd has set forth in example that will be his lasting legacy. It is the time he spent mentoring his young teammates to being involved with programs like the Teen Prevention Education Program (PEP) that will define him at his former high school long after people stop looking for his name on the banners in Ralph E. Ross Gymnasium.

The PEP is a peer-to-peer program designed to educate students about making healthy choices in their life. Hinson called Byrd's involvement in the program, which included him going and speaking to younger children, a "huge impact on the other students."

It is only now that his football coach can put perspective on what it is like to coach a player possessing the skills and intangibles of a Damiere Byrd.

"You only get a chance to coach a certain number of kids like that. Not a boat load of them," Hinson said. "There are a lot of coaches that never get to coach a kid like that.

"His legacy is that he was a kid that did everything he was supposed to do in the class, everything he was supposed to do in the community," Hinson added. "He was a kid that never disappointed you. ... That's a great legacy to have."

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