Former Piedmont Coach Dies

Josh Daher, who helped coach multiple Piedmont Academy athletic teams to a championship level, passed away July 14 at age 39.

His death stunned friends, family and colleagues who are remembering him as a passionate coach and ultimate family man.

Daher was a 2002 graduate of George Walton Academy in Monroe. As a student-athlete he helped the Bulldogs to state titles in basketball and baseball.

He later coached at his high school alma mater before moving to Piedmont where he coached multiple sports including football and basketball.

“When people would ask me how long we had known each other, I would tell them that Josh made a diving catch to beat me in the championship game of tee ball,” said former Piedmont coach Matt Britt who competed on athletic teams at GWA and later coached with Daher at multiple schools.

“When Josh was a senior in high school he only missed one free throw the entire season. I would bring this fact up as much as I could in casual conversation. That would lead him to say that the rim was bent on the goal that he missed the free throw on. I knew it was bent but I would always deny it and say he was just making up excuses.”

Daher helped lead GWA to state titles in multiple sports including baseball and basketball. He was always considered a “coach on the field” so it was not surprising he went into the teaching and coaching professions and had similar success.

After coaching at his alma mater, Daher went on to coach at Piedmont Academy, Flint River Academy and Gatewood before going into private business.

“We spent time on the same baseball coaching staff at George Walton where we able to grow together as coaches,” Britt said. “I also had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with him and his young family. Being a father and husband seemed to come naturally to him just like everything else I had ever seen him attempt. He went to Piedmont to be the head basketball coach and I stayed on at George Walton until he ended up at Flint River Academy as the head football coach and hired me to be his defensive coordinator.”

Coaching away from GWA together left lasting memories for both of the young coaches.

“It was so fun for me to be there with him and see how much he had grown as a coach and a man in the brief time we were away,” Britt said. “We had so much fun coaching football for those two years together. We would talk about our time there often. We would talk about the amount of trick plays we scored on and how many times we scored on the first play of the game or of the second half.”

Daher and Britt continued to work together outside of coaching as they went into the trash business in Raleigh, N.C.

Long-time GWA baseball coach Todd Shelnutt found it difficult to put into words what Daher meant to him as a former player, coach and long-time friend.

“He was a good one,” said Shelnutt who coached Daher and his teammates to a state baseball title in 2002. “He was one of those kids who was always a coach on the field and a leader in the group. Josh was always one step ahead. He knew what I was thinking and bought into what we were doing.”

Piedmont Academy athletic director Michael Wilson also has great memories of working with Daher.

“Josh was a great guy,” Wilson said. “He was one of the funniest and nicest guys I’ve ever met and he was a great coach. He could coach any sport well and one whose opinion I respected greatly.”

The coach, father and friend is remembered by all who knew him.

“We lost a really great guy, but more importantly a family lost a husband and father,” Wilson said. “My family and I are keeping Megan and their children in our nightly prayers as are many others and hopefully they can feel it and somehow, someway it can help them navigate this time. It’s just heartbreaking, a tremendous tragedy.”