By: Matt Rothman
There may be no coach in all of high school sports as successful as Coral Springs Charter’s Mark Montimurro, after picking up his 500th career varsity softball win Thursday night against Monarch High School.
After taking over the program in 2013, Coach Montimurro has won five state championships. He has also went 154-9 since the 2015 season.
“Five hundred means I’ve been around the game a long time and been fortunate to coach some fabulous players throughout the years,” said Montimurro.
Even with all the success, Coach Montimurro has enjoyed the chance to build programs up to where they have never been before. He took J.P Taravella and NSU University School to regional’s finals three times, and neither school has ever been back.
His experience winning state championships began earlier in his career at Hollywood Christian after winning in 2003 and 2004 with seven in his career.
Coach Montimurro has 28 Coach of the Year Awards and won the Max Preps National Coach of the Year in 2015.
“He is a fantastic coach, who pours his heart into making every player their absolute best,” said former player Sara Berthiaume. “His strong guidance and relentless coaching helped me get to where I am today, and no one is more deserving than him.”
Unlike many coaches, Montimurro has a unique style of coaching. He likes to play aggressively with versatile and athletic players. His teams generally pay attention to every last detail, from how to hold the bat in certain situations to how they lead from each base, depending on what they are trying to accomplish.
One player who has been a part of four of the state championships is junior Brianna Godfrey. Since sixth grade, she played a huge role in Coach Montimurro getting to 500, including on Thursday, with her incredible start on the mound where she kept Monarch hitless through the first five innings, striking out ten.
“He is an amazing coach, and I have learned so much from him, said Godfrey. “He is a big part of why I am where I’m at today. I am so happy to say that I helped to get coach Mark his 500th career win.”
While Coach Montimurro is happy to get 500, as many great coaches do, his focus is now on getting win number 501 on Monday, February 8, against Cooper City at 6 p.m.
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