First year Monroe College Lady Mustang Softball Coach Derrick Brown is anxious to get his team on the field and that will happen soon. Monroe opens the season with a home game on Thursday, March 29 against Queensborough CC. Monroe will play most of its home games on the Cooney Grauer field at 233rd Street and Bailey Avenue in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx. “After playing in the Region Championship game each of the last two seasons, we’re anxious to take the next step,” Coach Brown said, “and that would be winning the Region title. We think we have just the right mix of returning players and freshmen to get it done.” Monroe also has an energetic new coach who is well-schooled on the baseball and softball field. An assistant with Lady Mustang softball for the past three seasons, Coach Brown has cultivated an excellent career as a former professional baseball player in the Anaheim Angels organization and Assistant General Manger for the Nashua Hawks of the North Atlantic Baseball League. He has also coached fast-pitch softball for the past ten years, guiding two teams to a combined eight city championships.
“We expect to do the fundamentals right,” he explained. “One thing I’ve learned is that if you are solid in the field, smart on the basepaths, and make contact at the plate, we can be competetive. So we’ll start there and then they sky will be our limit.” Coach Brown received his Bachelor’s in Accounting from Mount Saint Mary College. He has a Master’s in Sports Management from East Stroudsburg University. |