Nate Evans, who was an assistant coach for one season in the Flathead soccer program, has been named the boys head coach.

Bryce Wilson, activities director at Flathead, made the announcement last week in a press release.

Evans replaces Dan Ferguson, who resigned in December after two seasons. Ferguson came to Flathead from Bozeman, where he was the technical director of the Blitzz youth soccer club.

Flathead, the seventh seed, stunned second-seed Helena High in a shootout last October to advance to state for the first time in eight years.

“Nate is passionate about kids and soccer,” Wilson said.

“He has a strong desire to move the Flathead boys soccer program forward. He outlined his vision during the interview and provided a portfolio about how he plans to better the program. He conveyed the need to continue to build upon coach Ferguson’s hard work.”  

Wilson said there were two finalists for the job.

“The last six years they have only won four games,” Evans said of the Braves.

“Four of those years, they were winless. I want to change that. I love the challenge. I have a ton of energy. Things will change.”

Evans said the task at hand is challenging, but he wants to restore the “winning legacy Flathead once had.”

 Evans, 26, was the Flathead JV boys coach in 2013. He spent last spring coaching the local U14 boys premier team.

He was an all-state soccer player his junior and senior seasons at Cassville High School in Cassville, Missouri.

He played two years at both Missouri Southern State University and Rocky Mountain College.

Evans will earn his National C License from the United States Soccer Federation in July.

A substitute teacher, he has already opened an office at the high school and has met with players. He said the team will have 14 seniors on the roster in the fall.

“We also have a fantastic, young, hungry younger class coming up,” he said.

Evans said the surprise trip to state last year “had them feeling like it was a winning season,” he said.

“They won three games. They got a taste of that winning mentality. We have to keep building on that.

“The future is bright,” he said.

“We just have to tweak some things.”

One ambitious project on his schedule is taking the Flathead Braves to the World Youth Cup in Sweden in July. The team will be gone 12-15 days.

More than 1,600 teams from 70 countries will be in attendance.

“They play around Montana all year and it’s awesome,” he said of his players.

“We want to give kids some great exposure to diverse cultures.”

The team will hold several fundraising events for that venture. Each player will need to raise about $4,000.

“This year it’s about setting the standard and reestablishing Flathead as a dominant program,” Evans said.

“This will be the last year (for those 14 seniors) to leave their mark, their legacy and set the bar high for those other guys.”