Top-three soccer job drew Gareth Munro to Collierville

Gareth Munro had a pretty good gig going at Briarcrest.

He had a good group of boys to work with, a trusted assistant/groundskeeper in Phillip Barker and some terrific facilities. But a chance to join one of the area's top programs was just too good to pass up.

Munro recently was named soccer coach at Collierville. Unlike at Briarcrest, he'll coach both the girls and boys teams, replacing Brittany Streger and Drew Hensarling, respectively. 

"I told them when I left (Briarcrest) that this was a first for me," Munro said. "It's the first time I'm leaving a job where I'm actually happy. But for me, it was a chance to work at one of what I consider are the three biggest soccer programs (in Memphis), Houston, CBHS and Collierville.

"I'm really blessed, and I feel like it's a terrific opportunity."

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Aside from tradition — the girls and boys teams have combined for 21 state tournament trips — the other big selling point for Munro was a chance to work at Collierville's new $93.5 million campus that opens next month and will be the showcase public school in the area.

"I mean, two fields, a game field and a practice field," he said. "We'll have locker rooms, and I'll have an office in there, too. ... There were players that could have played at Briarcrest but financially it just wasn't feasible."

A native of Scotland, Munro played professionally for Scottish club Stirling Albion and also worked for the country's football association in youth development. He ended up in this part of the world when he accepted a scholarship to play for Union University in Jackson in 2003.

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Duncan Nicol, who previously coached at Southwind before taking a few years off to complete work on his doctorate, will serve as Munro's assistant.

What has separated Collierville from the other two programs Munro mentioned is championships. The Dragons' lone title in school history came when the girls won the Class AAA tournament in 2005. By contrast, Houston has 14 combined titles, while all-boys CBHS has the state record with 10.

"The goal of course is to win a championship," Munro said. "But I don't want to stress the kids, either. I want them to enjoy their time playing for me; I don't want to be one or two years into the job and have them say, 'Oh, we hate playing for Coach G.

"We have talent; we'll figure it out. But it's about building relationships."

Reach John Varlas at john.varlas@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @johnvarlas.