This fall, Mount Greylock’s girls’ varsity soccer team has a new coach: Blair Dils.
Dils is a qualified coach, having led the boys’ soccer team for over 20 years. He has also coached a variety of other sports at both the high school and collegiate levels, including ice hockey, tennis, and squash.
Although he’s also had years of experience coaching other sports, Dils has coached soccer since he was fifteen years old, starting out by coaching a team with friends from school.
Aside from coaching, he also played soccer, both in high school and at Bowdoin College where he earned his bachelor’s degree. Bowdoin is in the same conference as Williams College, so even before settling in the Berkshires, Dils spent time in Williamstown for soccer games in college.
Interestingly, his assistant coach Mike Russo coached for the Williams men’s soccer team when Dils played in the NESCAC conference.
In addition to coaching, Dils has held other roles at Mount Greylock. He was an English teacher for 27 years and currently works in the Wellness department.
His ties to Williamstown date as far back to his wife, Jessica Dils, attending Mount Greylock as a high school student.
Before taking the position, Dils spoke to the former coach of the soccer team, Coach Natalie Harris, and discussed strategy, team dynamics, and goals for the season. As it is his first year coaching this team, building trust with the players has been at the forefront of Dils’ mind.
” “We’re developing chemistry,” said Dils, explaining how it has taken the team several games to get into a great rhythm.
The team has had a strong season thus far, remaining undefeated until October 16th. They finished their regular season with a 12-2-1 overall record, winning the Grieve League which included teams from other schools in the Berkshires.
In their most recent match, they won against Monson High School 2-1 and are on their way to states.
One of the team captains, senior Madison Powell, said, “I think that Coach Dils is a huge asset to our team. He has an abundance of experience coaching soccer, and he pushes the team to be great every day. I personally am really grateful to have him, and assistant Coach Russo, as my coaches for my last year on the team!”
Dils hopes to come back to coach next season.
