North Texas mourns the unexpected death of Byron Nelson HS head football coach

A North Texas community is grieving after the sudden death of a beloved head football coach. Travis Pride, 56, is someone many in the community said was a winner both on and off the field.

In a letter to parents and students on Wednesday, the principal of Northwest ISD's Byron Nelson High School announced that Pride, their head football coach, had died unexpectedly.

Pride, who also served as the campus athletic director, coached at the school for almost a decade.

“When I think of Travis Pride, I think of someone who supported student activity, from athletic programs to fine arts,” said Joel Johnson, executive director of athletics for Northwest ISD. “Coach Pride lacked an ego when it came to the athletic programs at Byron Nelson. He wasn’t what you would picture as a head football coach, as he was an even-tempered leader who was a kid magnet – students wanted to be around him, because he cared about them.”

A characteristic echoed by the head of the school's football booster club.

"I just appreciate the simplicity in which he lived his life. He had farm animals, he just was a hard worker and he was always willing to do the things that other people may not want to do," said Daryl Fowler, president of the Byron Nelson High School Football Booster club.

"As simple as setting up the football field, taking down the cones. I mean, he's the head football coach. He was willing to do all the jobs and to me, that showed just a servant's attitude about how he approached his job. He was never too big to do the things that he knew needed to be done to make sure his kids were taken care of and his program was taken care of," explained Fowler.

He said the coach's goal was to build a community, to make the community feel the impact of not only what the football program could do, but what the kids could do when they left and football ended.

Pride led the Bobcats for nine seasons with a 60-45 record. He helped lead Byron Nelson to winning records several years in a row.

"He got it started and kept it going. Not last year, but the year before, they took it all the way, and beat our big rival Southlake, I mean, how much of a big success was that!” expressed Trophy Club Police Chief Patrick Arata.

The chief said his youngest child of five attends Byron Nelson High School and said the news of Pride's death was devastating.

"Coach Pride is a great person and a true leader in our community. Not only was he the head coach, he was the leader to all the kids; he knew every kid's name," said Arata. "You could walk down the hall and he would say ‘Hi,’ hug them, give them a handshake. He influenced all the kids."

Before Byron Nelson, Pride was the head coach at Mansfield Summit High School, Wichita Falls, and was an assistant coach at Southlake Carroll when they won back-to-back state championships in 2004 and 2005.

Pride was a husband, father of three, son, brother and friend.

Fowler said they grew close over the years since both of their sons are in the same grade and play football.

"Just his wisdom, I mean, he was just a practical, down-to-earth guy and he wanted basic things like to work hard and receive the rewards of working hard. He was a man of faith who loved God and wanted to make sure his family loved God," said Fowler.

He said the last time he had a conversation with Pride was on Tuesday. He said he wrote a message reminding the coach about their meeting next week to go over his wish list for what the team needs in the upcoming season.

"I want people to know him as a great dad and husband and I want people to know that his impact on this community is felt immensely right now. We love him, we love his family, love his kids and we're just thankful for the impact he did have and we'll certainly will miss that. There will be opportunities for us to love each other and provide that support because in the end, that's what he wanted, our community to be so tight-knit that you love and support each other, and now we're going to do that for him," said Fowler.

"Thousands of people know him, respected him and loved him," said Arata.

On Wednesday evening, hours after the news of his death, hundreds of people gathered in front of the school for an impromptu vigil.

Pride's cause of death has not yet been released. Funeral arrangements are pending.