PINEDALE — Pinedale High School Junior Brody Hamby was a defining force in the Wrangler soccer season, so it is fitting that the goalie be named 2023 3A West All-Conference honors for his efforts. Hamby posted 148 saves during the course of the season, according to Wyopreps, making it the second-highest record in the entire 3A Conference statewide.

PHS boys’ soccer Head Coach George Vlastos said Hamby’s “leadership in the goal allowed the rest of the team to gain resilience, to learn to trust one another and, perhaps more than anything else, to enjoy playing the game.”

Vlastos commended Hamby’s ability to know when to “dial in and focus” and when to “lighten things up so the rest of the team can settle.”

Hamby’s instincts in the goal are “exceptional,” Vlastos said, noting Hamby won’t be found out of position or making a wrong decision.

Hamby has the muscle behind those instincts, with the ability to punt the ball across two-thirds of the field and send a goal kick sailing 60 yards.

Vlastos said Hamby’s “teammates know that at any time he can make a save and get the ball to them just about anywhere on the field.”

“There have been times after a game when Brody can hardly walk and we are certain he’ll be out for a week or two and the next day he’s back in the goal making 15-plus saves during the match. His ability to recover and play in top form so soon is just crazy. I’d like to know what his mother feeds him,” Vlastos added.

At the final PHS 2023 soccer season match, Hamby was huddled up with the rest of his team and called out “1-2-3-FAMILY” to get them pumped up before taking the field.

“That’s how Brody does it,” Vlastos said. “That’s the kind of teammate he is.”