Cody Bayn is the new coach of Western’s boys soccer team.

Bayn succeeds Scott Watterson, who led the Panthers to back-to-back conference titles in 2022 and 2023, and a conference title in 2020.

Bayn played for Western’s varsity team for four years, graduating in 2006. Now he’s back at the Panther Bowl as a coach.

“I really enjoyed my time there and then went into the professional world and worked a few different jobs for 10 years and then finally found my place to do this full time,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier coaching the high school that I played for.”

As a senior fullback in 2005, he was named second to the All-State team and was voted the Southern Michigan Activities Association’s all-time leading player, helping the Panthers win the conference title.

He then moved into coaching, serving on the coaching staffs of Jackson College men’s soccer and club teams such as Rush, which later became the Michigan Jaguars. He coached in Ann Arbor, both at the Liverpool International Academy and Michigan Futsal Factory. He also served as an evaluator for the Olympic program.

Bayn hasn’t really had a chance to study the skills of the players returning, which has prevented him from putting together a system he wants to use on the field this fall.

“We’ve done some summer work, so I know some of the pieces I have to work with, but I really take it as a fresh start at tryouts,” he said. “When people ask about formations, I have my favorite things that I like to do, but it’s kind of like figuring out what you’re going to have for dinner; you have to know what ingredients you have on hand.”

Western opens its schedule on August 19 with a home game against Kalamazoo Central and opens Interstate 8 play on September 10 with a home game against Marshall.

“I’m just bubbling with excitement right now,” he said. “Just that field, that environment that we have there at Western, I think is one of the best environments in the state for football. The first time I’m leading a team there, I think it’s just going to make me really happy to remember what it’s like to be one of those athletes.”

Bayn played for Ron Rudland, the former Western coach for whom the field was named last year. Bayn credited Rudland as the reason he is now a coach.

Bayn now wants to offer the same experience to today’s Western players, helping them build a lifetime of memories, most of which will have little to do with football.

“The memories I made there with my teammates, from preseason camp to bus rides to stupid incidents in practice, had very little to do with the actual results of games,” Bayn said. “It was the relationships I built that I look back on fondly.