2007 Coaching Staff of the Year
By Greg Scholand
Greg Scholand is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management. He can be reached at: gs@MomentumMedia.com
When a program is as successful as the University of Arizona, it’s tempting to assume the wins come easily. But that was hardly true for the Wildcats at this year’s NCAA Division I Women’s College World Series. En route to earning a second consecutive national title, the team, lead by Head Coach Mike Candrea, fought its way through five elimination games before adding an eighth WCWS trophy to its awards case.
Candrea’s success is truly unparalleled. His teams have made the WCWS in 19 of the past 20 years—the only absence coming in 2004, when Candrea took a break to prepare the U.S. national team for its gold-medal performance at the Olympics. He’s a member of the NFCA Hall of Fame, and has received the Pacific 10 Conference Coach of the Year award 10 times, most recently in 2007.
Even with this success, Coach Candrea is the first to point out that he hasn’t done it alone. His coaching staff includes Assistant Coaches Larry Ray and Nancy Evans, and Volunteer Assistant Coach David Feinberg. In this interview, Candrea, Ray, and Evans talk about teaching the mental and physical game, how they’ve seen college softball change on and off the field, and what they see in their program’s future.
MIKE CANDREA, HEAD COACH
CM: You’ve been on both ends of close WCWS finals. What separates a winning team from a losing team?
Candrea: By the time you reach the finals, there usually isn’t a large difference in talent between the two teams. It usually comes down to special performances—which team has more players who raise their game that extra notch when called upon. Sometimes it’s just making the right play at the right moment, whether it’s a great slide in an extra-inning game or a great pitching performance to get the team out of a jam. That’s what championship play is all about.
How do you train players to give those special performances?
There are so many unpredictable elements in softball, but one thing we have full control over is our preparation. I want our kids to feel prepared, physically and mentally, to go out onto the field at any given moment, in any situation, and be confident they have the skills to win. When that happens, they’re not overthinking the game—they’re just reacting and trusting the things they’ve done all year. Softball is primarily a game of failure: The outcome is often determined by a critical mistake. If players are going to be successful, they need to be ready for anything.
How do you talk to players about mistakes in a way that fosters confidence?
We don’t pretend bad things never happen, because that’s simply not realistic. When someone makes a mistake, we want her equipped to put it out of her mind and move on. If someone is 0 for 10 at the World Series, I want her to go to the plate for the 11th time still believing she can get a hit. So I spend a lot of time focusing on my players’ mental approach to the game.
The way I do it varies from year to year. This year, instead of talking all the time, I inundated the team with literature. I’d post different things in the dugout throughout the season, the players would read them, and eventually everyone found a few that really hit home.
One was a sheet about the “three I’s”: intelligence, immediacy, and intensity. Intelligence is the ability to make sound decisions and play smart. Immediacy is a sense of urgency in accomplishing a task. Intensity is the belief that now is the time to give the game everything you’ve got, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I wanted them to think about those three things before they took the field. And at the bottom of the sheet, I wrote, “With our A game, we can beat anybody. Anything less, and they can beat us.”
Another sheet was all about identifying self-defeating thoughts and behaviors that undermine performance. We call them gremlins—invisible creatures that prevent athletes from doing their best, including fear, anger, anxiety, self-consciousness, perfectionism, stubbornness, and lack of motivation. It’s important for all of us to look honestly at ourselves and identify our gremlins. In sports, as in life, the first step to success is getting out of your own way.
What’s the biggest difference between trying to win your first title and trying to repeat?
Winning for the first time is so emotional that sometimes you can lose a little focus, and you have to fight that. I remember in 1991, the first time we won the World Series, it seemed like the last out took four days. Everything slowed down and we found ourselves thinking about all the bad things that could happen. With experience, that equation flips around. You think about all the good things that can happen because you’re so close to winning.
In the 2007 WCWS, Taryne Mowatt threw every pitch for your team. How did you decide she could go the distance?
It was an easy decision because we really had no other options. By the time we reached the World Series, Taryne was used to being our go-to pitcher. She’s the type of player who wants to be out there when it counts most. She told me she was ready to throw until her arm fell off.
My pitching decisions are much harder when I’m working with the Olympic team, where I have Finch, Osterman, Abbott, Fernandez, and Hollowell to choose from. Sometimes there’s a real advantage to not having options. Some of my best college teams have had lineups that were pretty well established early on. It takes pressure off the kids because they can make a mistake or have a little slump and not feel someone’s breathing down their neck.
This year’s WCWS set new records for strikeouts and shutouts, with Mowatt leading the way. Is pitching becoming too dominant?
I think softball has a good balance between offense and defense. The last time we felt offense needed a boost, we moved the pitching circle back from 40 to 43 feet, and I believe that served its purpose. Not only did it increase offense, but it also brought more nuance to the pitching game. Pitchers used to be able to dominate batters just by throwing hard, and that’s not as true anymore. To be a great pitcher today, you’d better focus on movement and off-speed pitches. Pitchers have to be smarter—they have to get ground balls and fly balls and play defense, and they have to vary their pitch selection to keep hitters off-balance.
As for all the strikeouts and shutouts, one big factor is that scouting has gotten better than ever. Coaches are charting opposing hitters’ weaknesses and preparing pitchers to take advantage of them. So I see low-scoring games at the World Series largely as a compliment to coaches and pitchers for doing their homework.
The NCAA has placed a renewed emphasis on sportsmanship in softball. Have you noticed changes in on-field conduct over your career?
I think the game has gotten more intense, and sportsmanship problems are always a potential side effect of that, but I haven’t seen a huge difference. With more fans and more TV cameras today, it’s easy to let emotions run high, and athletes and coaches need to find ways to keep themselves in control.
When I was a younger coach, I sometimes let my emotions do the talking. Back then I had a 72-mile commute to and from work, and I’d find myself driving home from games thinking, “Why did I say that?” or “Why did I let myself act that way?” It helped me realize the importance of stepping back and thinking about how my actions affect the entire program.
What’s one issue in college softball you wish more people were talking about?
I think the sport is in great shape overall, but we can’t assume that what’s good for baseball is also good for softball. Sometimes it seems like we make decisions based on what baseball is doing, and that’s not right. For instance, baseball moved its start date to March, and we’ve talked about following their lead, but people need to remember that we’re two completely different sports.
Besides that, I’d really like to see the fences moved back to 220 feet all the way around. We have that in international play, and I think it’s a much better game because it puts a premium on outfield play, gets the triple back in the game, and alleviates some of the problems with bats becoming too powerful. I know it would create major problems for some facilities, but it’s something I’d like to see discussed.
You’re taking a hiatus from the Wildcats this season to work with the national team. What is the biggest difference in coaching the two squads?
One big difference is how great the national-level athletes are at learning and making adjustments all the time. Here’s a good example: At the Olympic level, I’ve seen players have three bad at-bats during a game, but add something new about the pitcher to their mental database each time. On their fourth at-bat, they get a hit. At the college level, a player having three bad at-bats is more likely to get down on herself or frustrated that she’s having a bad game.
Another difference is the Olympic-level players’ ability to slow the game down. At the college level, especially for freshmen, the game can feel very fast, and that’s when they lose control. The difference between practice speed and game speed can really hurt some players.
Has that observation affected the way you run your practices at Arizona?
It sure has. Everything we do in practice is at a very quick pace. If the game is as fast in practice as it is during competition, you’re better prepared to compete.
What will be your team’s biggest challenge in the coming year?
Every team changes, and our team has changed quite drastically. Most strong teams are strong up the middle, and we’re replacing our shortstop, second baseman, and centerfielder this season. A key to our success will be the incoming freshmen making contributions right away. As for Taryne, she’s not going to surprise anyone this year—they all know about her, so she’ll have to bring her A game to the ballpark every time. And all our players are working to be more consistent. It’s great to have a championship to look back on, but the real question in softball is, “What have you done lately?”
LARRY RAY,
ASSISTANT COACH
Larry Ray joined the Wildcats’ coaching staff in 1985. He left in1996 to start a new softball program at the University of Florida, where he amassed a record of 169-106 in four seasons before returning to Arizona in 2002. Today, he works primarily with slap hitters and infielders, and also spearheads the team’s recruiting.
CM: How do you teach slap hitting?
Ray: As with any skill, you don’t want to make clones of everyone. I try to take what they’re already good at and expand on it, and I have a few fundamentals that I feel everyone can benefit from. For example, I try to get players to run as short a distance as possible. I’ll have our slap hitters move up in the box as far as they’re comfortable, so when their left foot crosses over, they’re already headed down the line. We also work on pitch selection, so players are prepared to hit ground balls and force the defense to make plays.
What is the most common flaw you see in slap hitters?
Some players have problems with consistency in their footwork, and it prevents them from getting a fast first step. When I see that, we work on developing a technique that will get them moving down the line as quickly as possible while still feeling natural.
What are your top priorities in recruiting?
It’s not too difficult to spot the best players at a tournament. But I also care a lot about intangibles—how they handle success and failure, what their attitude is, what kind of teammate they are—and those things are harder to evaluate. When I’m at a tournament, I’m not just watching the field. I look for the way players interact in the dugout, the way they talk to coaches and teammates, and how they react when they make a mistake.
How much do those things matter? I think one of our biggest strengths at Arizona is how well our team meshes on a personal level. Our players are unselfish and very supportive of each other. At this year’s World Series, I honestly thought there were several teams with better overall talent, but we played so well as a team, and that helped make the difference.
If you could change anything about the recruiting process, what would it be?
Over the last several years we’ve been restricted in our opportunities to evaluate recruits, and I’d like to see that reversed. Ultimately, athletes are the ones hurt by that schedule. Our signing period is in November, and we can’t go out after that. But I think Thanksgiving and Christmas tournaments around the country would be great opportunities for teams to find players to fill their needs. It would also give more opportunities for high school players to get onto a college roster.
Do you see yourself making a return to head coaching?
I’m really happy here. Mike treats us all like head coaches, and we’ve each got our areas to be in charge of. If the right opportunity came up, I’d consider it, but I love Tucson, I love U of A, and I love this program.
NANCY EVANS, ASSISTANT COACH
With a .939 winning percentage pitching for the Wildcats in the mid-1990s, Nancy Evans has the best win-loss ratio in NCAA softball history. She finished her playing career with a sterling 124-8 record and two national titles (1994 and 1998), and was named the Honda Softball Award winner and National Player of the Year as a senior. Evans joined the Arizona coaching staff immediately after graduation as a volunteer assistant, and became a full-time assistant coach in 2001. She works primarily with pitchers and catchers.
CM: What is your approach to developing pitchers?
Evans: It starts with realizing that each one has her own personality, style, ways of performing, and sources of motivation. I never take a cookie-cutter approach. The first thing I do is get to know them on a personal level. I take an interest in them not just as softball players but as people, and once we’ve established mutual trust and respect, it makes everything else so much easier. It also means they’ll trust me when it comes to things like conditioning, because they know everything I have them do is aimed at making them more successful.
What do you emphasize in conditioning?
One of our biggest priorities is cardio training. I’ve experienced the long season as a college pitcher, and I know that cardio work and strong legs are extremely important. Lots of pitchers have strong arms, but if their legs get tired, they’re done. I have our pitchers do cardio even when the rest of the team doesn’t. It was a battle at first, but after a 60-game season when someone is throwing eight games in seven days and still feels great, they realize it pays off.
How do you approach the mental game?
Coach Candrea believes the mental game is very important, and I completely agree because I know how much it’s helped me. I was also a sports psychology major in college, so I’ve become pretty good at talking to players about their mental approach to the game.
With pitchers, so much is about confidence. When I look at Taryne, for instance, and the progress she made between the start of last season and the World Series, it wasn’t that she got a lot stronger or developed new techniques—she improved because she developed the mental skills of confidence, mental stamina, and toughness.
How do you help pitchers develop those intangible skills?
I give mental routines to help them deal with mistakes or negative thoughts during the game. For instance, if a pitcher gives up a home run, of course that feels really bad. She’ll have her back to home plate as she’s watching the ball, and I’ll tell her not to turn around again until she’s dumped those negative feelings outside the circle. I’ll even give her a short phrase to repeat to herself about how that pitch is in the past and can’t be changed, so she has to focus on getting the next batter out. By the time she turns around and faces the plate again, she has a clear head.
Has the college game changed much since you played?
The game itself hasn’t changed a lot, but bat technology has come a long way. We definitely didn’t have the same pop in our bats that players do now. I wasn’t a home run hitter in college, but when I take batting practice with these new bats, I hit them out all the time. It’s a shame I didn’t have these bats when I played.
Do you make it a priority for your players to learn other positions?
Every day. I want them to understand every aspect of the game, to the point where they could become head coaches after they graduate. The more knowledgeable and skilled they are playing defense, the more they’re helping the team. Our pitchers field ground balls at every practice, and I want them to think of themselves as infielders in the circle. Even if an athlete comes in only having been a pitcher, she’s usually excited to learn other roles.
What do you see in your professional future?
My goal is to be a head coach someday. I’ve learned so much working with Coach Candrea and the rest of the staff here, and I’ve really come to see this program as a family. When I become a head coach, I want to create the same kind of atmosphere, because I’ve seen first-hand how it makes success possible.
