Upon his arrival in 1985, Coach Bill Lehr’s affect on the athletic programs of Big Piney became apparent. He was immediately hired as an assistant football coach to go along with his Middle School counseling position. For the next thirty-three years, Bill Lehr helped guide Puncher teams to great successes. His involvement with the teams was outweighed by his involvement with each of his student/athletes as individuals. Coaching and counseling were not the only positions that found Lehr actively involved. For three years, he served as the Athletic Director for both the Big Piney Middle and High Schools. He also officiated a great deal at the MS/JV levels in football and basketball. As a track official, he served as the starter at many High School meets in the area. He served on the Wyoming Sports Official Board of Directors for the Wyoming High School Activities Association. Bill Lehr was named the Wyoming Track Official of the Year in 2004.
For more than 25 years, Coach Lehr was an assistant football coach for the Punchers. During his span with the teams, the Punchers won in excess of 150 games including six state championships. For his work, Coach Lehr received the Wyoming Coaches Associations Assistant Coach of the Year on two occasions. He was awarded the AFLAC Assistant Coach of the Year Award. He was also selected to serve as a coach for the 1999 Shrine Bowl. For his tenure as a football coach, the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame honored Coach Lehr with their Career Achievement Award.
For over three decades, Lehr was involved with coaching the track teams at Big Piney. He assumed the role of head coach in 2009 and led both the girls’ and boys’ teams to state honors.
His 2017 girls’ team was state runner-up and this past season, his Puncher girls brought home the first ever Wyoming State Championship for girls’ track. He started and coached the Puncher Indoor season for three years. The Wyoming Coaches Association honored him twice with Assistant Coach or the Year awards. In 2018, he was named the WCA Coach of the Year for girl’s track. During his time in track, the Puncher boys and girls racked up over twenty conference championships and six state championships.
Coach Lehr was also active in the Wyoming Coaches Association serving as secretary for the organization for two years. In 2015, the Wyoming Coaches Association honored Coach Lehr by inducting him into the Wyoming Coaches Hall of Fame. A year later, the National High School Athletic Coaches Association honored him as one of seven finalists for a National Coach of the Year Award.
After nearly fifty years of service, fourteen of which were in Nebraska, the old coach has finally hung up his cleats!