By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Brian Upshaw is excited., The new head coach of the Montgomery High softball team feels like he has stepped into an ideal situation. The Cougars’ varsity assistant coach last year, Upshaw moves into the head coaching spot this year and has a team he feels is built to win., “We have a lot of experienced players back,” said Upshaw, who had been an assistant at Immaculata before coming to Montgomery. “We pretty much have the same starting lineup as last year year when we went 14-9 and won our conference. As long as everyone does their job, I think we’ll be all right., “We have beefed up our schedule. We’re playing Immaculate Heart, which is No. 1 in the state. Livingston is a top 10 team. We’ve gotten into three tournaments. We think we’re legit and can pay with the big dogs. We have to play against them and see how we do. The kids are excited for the opportunity to play against these teams.”, Upshaw is aware of the past success of the Cougars. He knows the program can be among the elite in the state and wants to do whatever he can to help the team get there., “I was so exited once I found out I would be named head coach,” Upshaw said. “I was excited for the opportunity. Montgomery was a powerhouse in the (former coach Johnny) Rooney days and hopefully we will be a powerhouse again.”, A baseball player at Manville High, Upshaw got into coaching softball after college and has grown to love the sport., “It all started when I got my first teaching job at Bridgewater,” Upshaw said. “I volunteered with the freshman softball team and then JV after that. And then I got the gig at Immaculata before coming to Montgomery. This is my seventh year of softball and fourth year of varsity. I’m excited to finally have my own program and be the head coach., “I gained a lot of experience throughout the six years. I’m putting all the pieces of puzzle together and hopefully with this team we have we hope to make a solid run. I feel like this team is stronger offensively and defensively than the team I was with at Immaculata that won the sectionals in 2014. We have a lot of talented girls back. We only lost one starter.”, Upshaw and the Cougars open the season April 1 against Ridge. The new coach is ready to adapt to the players he has on the roster to make them as successful as possible., “I kind of adapt to the players I have,” he said. “Some games we might face a tough pitcher and have to play small ball. Sometimes we’ll need to just play out a game and not look past anyone. We can’t look past any team. The kids have some goals and I told them goals are awesome but you have to focus on one game at a time. The focus now is on opening day against ridge. We’ll go day by day.”, Upshaw has been hooked on softball since his first practice as an assistant at Bridgewater. And now he brings that enthusiasm to Montgomery., “Now that I am the head coach, I feel there is more pressure,” Upshaw said. “But I am ready for that challenge. I am confident. We have 28 girls in the program. I want them to have fun. They need to be excited for practices and the games.”
