By C. MARTINEZ-BRANDON
martinez@crescent-news.com
MONTPELIER -- Former Defiance College defensive co-ordinator Adam Baumgartner has been named the new head football coach of the Montpelier Locomotives.
Baumgartner, who called the defense for the Yellow Jackets from 2005-06, takes over a program that was started in 1922 and will be the Locomotives' 22nd head coach.
"This is definitely a great experience," said Baumgartner. "I want to thank the board, Mr. Grime, Mr. Jerger and Mr. Ewers for the support they've shown and the level of confidence they have in hiring me, I'm excited for this opportunity."
Baumgartner will be taking over for Joe Brigle, who was the Locos' mentor for the past eight seasons. During his time with the Locomotives, Brigle compiled a 26-64 record with his best season coming in 2005 when he guided Montpelier to a 6-4 finish.
"We need to form relationships," said Baumgartner of his first planned undertaking. "We need to get as many people involved in the program as possible, from adults to athletes."
Baumgartner is a 2001 graduate of Defiance College, where he earned all-academic District IV and all-HCAC honors.
After graduating from Defiance College, Baumgartner earned a masters degree from Otterbein. While at Otterbein, Baumgartner served as a graduate assistant helping coach the defensive secondary.
Last season, Montpelier was winless at 0-10.
The Locomotives finish in 2005 was the program's only winning season since their last playoff appearance (1993) while the Locos haven't claimed a Northwest Ohio Athletic League crown since 1983.
"It all goes back to relationships, mental toughness and physical toughness," Baumgartner said about what he feels will be keys to success. "Those are the things you need for success and it might not come overnight. Success in the beginning might just be us being competitive every Friday night.
"But my expectations are going to be accountability," ended Baumgartner. "People need to know what's expected of them and it's the same for the head coach and those are things that we're going to try to reinforce every day."