CRESWELL – Coming off one of the most successful seasons in the Creswell Bulldogs’ 19-year program history, the last thing the soccer program needed was new coaches. However, that is exactly what they will have this year.

Brandi Wittenborn, who coached both boys and girls for the Bulldogs last season, stepped away after the 2025-26 season to coach her grandkids.

The boys position will be filled by Gary Smyth. Smyth was a high-level player, having been invited to try out for the USA U16 National Team.

His coaching experience includes five years of high school soccer in Oregon and collegiate experience on both the girls and boys side.

“I’m very excited to get the chance to coach the players in the boys soccer program and to meet the parents, staff, and other coaches,” he said in a social media post. “I’m looking forward to helping these student-athletes reach the next level and continuing to grow together as a program.”

The girls new head coach will be Colin Hay, who was an assistant on the Creswell girls team last season. He filled in for Wittenborn at times. His predecessor speaks highly of him.

“He is going to be awesome. He has been coaching for a long time. He has great knowledge of the game, along with knowledge of how to pull the best out of his players. He coached both my kids in club soccer when they were younger and coached my daughter in club soccer when she was in high school. They are lucky to have a coach like Colin,” Wittenborn said.

Both coaches will inherit solid situations. The girls team lost a 1-0 state semifinal to Amity and returns 14 players, including captain Mila Nguyen.
On the boys side, the team made it to the state semifinals last season and has 10 returning players.

The Bulldogs will hope that Smyth and Hay can replicate the continuity and success that Wittenborn brought to the program over her nearly 20 years of coaching one or both Creswell soccer teams.