'Team Bowers' Helps Motivate Delbarton Coach to Success

Brian Bowers of Morris Plains has spent fifteen years with the Green Wave football program; nine years as head coach. An imposing figure at 6’4”, Bowers looks like he could deliver a fire and brimstone pre-game speech, complete with choice language, in the style of a Knute Rockne, Vince Lombardi or Joe Paterno. 

However, in the team prayer before Delbarton football games, Coach Bowers seems more like a humble patriarch leading grace over a family meal. A quiet storm might be the best way to describe the aura of both the team and their leader; smooth yet overpowering.

Patch met up with Coach Bowers on the day Delbarton defeated Parsippany Hills 43-7. He seemed to motivate the team to earn a gracious victory, rather than delivering a humiliating defeat. 

After the game, Bowers receive a little motivation himself from “Team Bowers.” His wife Melanie and daughters Lexi, Tessa and Mary were among the first to congratulate him after the game, greeting him with balloons and a cup of coffee on the field.

Coach Bowers says he is able to juggle his personal life, his professional life and his passion for sports by skillfully coordinating everything with Melanie, who he says would make "a ferocious linebacker." The couple say they like to mix parenting and coaching skills.

“Being a coach utilizes many of the same skills as a parent” Melanie Bowers said. “You need to realize that every kid is different, and you have to really think about the best way to teach them individually.”

After football season ends, Brian Bowers can be found sharing his knowledge of sports on the basketball court and the softball diamond, coaching his three daughters and many other Morris Plains youths.

Meanwhile, with Delbarton's 6-0 season, there’s a good reason for fans to get to a Green Wave game this season. Catch the team in action on Oct. 22, at home, where they'll face Mendham at 4 p.m.