Sept. 4, 2009

How did "County Fair" (6:00 a.m. conditioning workouts) go this past week?
"The whole objective is to break down mental barriers. The conditioning is a bi-product and it's something we need to do to get over the hump. When they finish up "County Fair" they feel really good about themselves. It does push them to the limits and push them to the max. You get to that point where you don't think you can do any more, and then you go 30 more minutes and you wonder how you did it. We don't play a sport like football or basketball where cardio is as important. To me it's more of a mental challenge in doing things that you have not done. It's believing you can go 4-for-4 in a game and knock in a runner under the lights with cameras rolling in a tight situation. I believe there is a correlation there between doing something challenging when no one is watching compared to when everyone is watching. It was a good week, and while we don't know what they will look like on the field, it's a huge kickoff to the beginning of the season. They know that if they can survive this, they can survive anything."

Can you talk about using the momentum gained at the end of last season to help this team start the fall season?
"Last year we talked about the 2008 season and dealing with disappointment in life circumstances. In 2009 we had a very difficult schedule and a team that may not have been the most talented, but had the will to get things turned around very quickly. That showed me we were on the right path. I would like this team to focus on being better than we were in 2009. We have the ability, we have the players, we just have to find the right combination. It does not have to happen in the first week of practice, it just has to be a process during the fall."

Talk about moving on without Brette Reagan and the other seniors, and what this year's group will need to do to fill the void...
"Most years you have players you have to replace from a leadership standpoint, and Brette is going to be tough to replace on the field, but we lost her for a time last season and we had players step up in her absence and get us in a position to contend for a Big 12 title. I think we have some great leaders sitting here on this team and kids that are going to step up. Good players move on and you have to reload, and I believe we have done that."

What are you looking to see from the 2009-10 team this fall?
"Fall practice never determines the starting lineup in the spring, but it definitely answers the questions I have more clearly. When I wrote our first practice plan, looking at the number of infielders that we have, in one sense you are excited about competition and in another you see that it will take a lot of work to get answers to see who will be the right fit. I have a lot of unanswered questions, but I want to see kids perform. I want to teach them the system and have them know what we want to do philosophically. They don't have to be on the same page with me yet, but we need to get there by early March. When we finish this fall, I want to have a good idea of my No. 1's and 2's at each position. By the third or fourth week, I want them to know the system well enough that they relax and play their game. The fall is a great chance to find out our weaknesses so we can work on them in the offseason."

We are seeing construction on the Getterman Indoor Hitting Facility; how excited are you about watching that progress this fall?
"We are very excited about that and we are going to enjoy the building process. We would love to be in it now, but we are going to enjoy the building of it first. I have become more process-oriented than result-oriented as I have gotten older, and now I take the time to smell the dirt and the grass and just enjoy the ride. I think the strength of Baylor Athletics is growing just as fast if not faster than anywhere else in the country, and it's a blessing and an honor to be a part of that. It's so fantastic that the Gettermans have give so much so we can continue to raise the bar for softball facilities across the country. It's going to be the nicest collegiate indoor hitting facility in the country and the players will really benefit from it."