This article is first in a series about new coaches at Bear River.

Bear River got a steal in obtaining their new Varsity Boys Basketball coach.

Basketball welcomed a new addition to the team, Gregg Pistochini. Coach Pistochini has had 30 years of coaching experience at the high school level, including time at Bella Vista, and Casa Roble. For the last ten years, Pistochini coached at Del Oro.

Coach Pistochini said Bear River staff members have been kind to him.

“Students and staff have been very welcoming to me,” he said. “I enjoy the atmosphere on campus and am starting to feel more at home each day.”

Returning Varsity athletes are excited to see that Pistochini is coaching the team.

“Coach Pistochini brings new offense and ways of playing the game,” said Kaden Ahlberg, a junior.

“He has very high energy, and likes to have things at practice run the way he wants,” said James Kelly, a senior.

“He has very high hopes for our team to do great, and compete against higher caliber teams,” said Rhiley Harrison, a senior.

Athletes said they believe that Coach Pistochini is a great addition to the Bruin family and staff.

“He is hard, but he will bring new offense and defense plays,” said Ahlberg. “He makes a great addition to the teams and I am very excited to see how the season will go.”

“He has molded into the team very well,” commented Kelly. “He is very nice.”

“Everyone likes him and he is a good coach,” said Harrison. “He has a lot of positive energy.”

Pistochini said that the team is very young, but has high hopes for the upcoming basketball season.

“We are a very young and inexperienced team,” said Pistochini. “I expect the boys to compete every night. We have 2 freshmen, 2 sophomores, 3 juniors, and 3 seniors on the team, and we will continue to get better everyday.”

The team also commented on how they think the upcoming season will turn out.

“It will be tough to play and compete against the good teams, but I think we have a good chance,” said Harrison.

“It’s going to be very exciting to see where we are going to go and what we are going to accomplish,” said Kelly.