Sidney Public Schools welcomes alum Ryan Birner as new head volleyball coach

SIDNEY, Neb. - Sidney Public Schools announced the hiring of Ryan Birner as the new head high school volleyball coach Friday morning, marking a homecoming for the 2016 Sidney High School graduate.

Birner attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he earned a degree in secondary social sciences in 2019. During his college years, Birner competed with the university’s men’s club volleyball team, which placed at national tournaments.

Following graduation, Birner began his coaching career as an assistant at North Bend Central in 2020. A year later, he became the head volleyball coach at Holdrege High School, where he also taught sixth-grade social studies.

Birner returns to his alma mater after transforming Holdrege’s volleyball program into a formidable contender the last four seasons, culminating in a 26-7 record in 2024, a conference title and a run to the C1-7 district finals.

"We're very happy to welcome Coach Ryan Birner back to Sidney Public Schools," the district stated in a press release.

During his time as a student at Sidney High School, Birner ran cross country, played basketball and was a member of the boys golf team all four years. He earned academic all-state and all-state honorable mention honors during the 2015 basketball season that saw the Red Raiders finish as Class B runner-up. Birner was also the class president his freshman through senior years. 

He takes over for Julie Smith, who finished her career with the Lady Raiders with a 108-60 record, district runners-up in 2020 and 2021 and clinched the district championship and state tournament appearance in 2022.