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Last week, Pike County Schools announced the hiring of new Pike County High School softball coach Greg Taylor.

Taylor, a Haleyville native, comes to Pike County after spending the last several years as the head softball coach at Winston County High School.

“I applied for a lot of different jobs but I came down and met (the administration) and I think one of the things I liked most is by the time I got home they had already called me and told me that they wanted me,” Taylor said of deciding to come to PCHS. “I like that they showed that they want you there. I wanted to try something new, too. It’s about four hours away from where I’ve been living, so it’s sort of a new start for me. I was told that they have a good core of girls coming back and I’m really looking forward to working with them.”

Taylor played baseball at Northwest Community College and graduated from Athens State University. He started out as an assistant softball coach at Haleyville before ultimately taking over as head coach in 2004. He coached at his alma mater until taking over at Class 7A Huntsville High School in 2011, where he remained until moving on to Winston County. Taylor has also served as an assistant basketball and football coach in the past. During his coaching career, two of his teams have made it to the Elite 8 with three area championships.

Before coming for his interview, Taylor said he had never been to Brundidge.

“I’d never been there before but I definitely like it,” he said. “I like the challenge of it all, getting to meet new people. You also don’t have to worry about me favoring anyone because I don’t know anyone. The players that give us the best chance to win, will play, no matter who they are. I’m not real familiar with all the teams we’ll play either. You run into some teams from the south in some tournaments but for the most part, it will be all new to me.”

Pike County Softball has made it to regionals in back-to-back seasons and Taylor is looking to continue that success.

“I’ve never seen any of them play yet but establishing a program that will be good year in and year out is our main goal,” he emphasized. “We want to give ourselves a chance to win and do things the right way and work extremely hard. I want to get them prepared to hopefully make a run in the playoffs.”