Latest / Coaches Corner / Softball Coach Laura Valentino - Selection Sunday

Transcript

Softball Coach Laura Valentino - Selection Sunday · Coaches Corner

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You've done this as a player. What we were emotions
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: like after all these near misses the last couple of years.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: When that third strike that Peyton got for the final
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: lot on Saturday, I imagine there must have been relief, joy,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: A lot of emotions were going through your head.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Honestly, I'm not sure it's completely hit me yet. There's
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: been a couple of times that I've been on the Verrgetiers,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: a couple of times that I'm just my smile is
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: ear to ear and it's a time that I think
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: about my family. I think about the two kids, Rosie
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: and Lexi, who have been a huge part of changing
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: the culture of this program and bring in the trophy back.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: I mean, they said it from the start and we've
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: been through some trials. That's part of growing champions and
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: they're at the.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Core of that.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: So watching them celebrate on that field was really really
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: special for me.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: After losing the Saint John's series, it appears you did
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: not have any let down whatsoever. Yeah, you had a
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: tight game with quick providence for that first game with
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: postseason can always be a bit nerve wracking, but after
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: that it just seemed like business as usual.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: I think that the Saint John's series really, if anything,
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: brought our team even closer than what it was, because
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: I can tell you that I didn't have to say
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: much after that series. They were talking more to each
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: other about that's not going to happen this week. It's
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: not happening. So it really came from them. And that's
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: when you know as a coach that there's something special
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: going on in the locker room when you have from
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: the top down saying we're going into the tournament with fire,
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: and it's pretty rare that we get beat twice by somebody,
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: So we're going to go in with some edge and
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: we're going to learn from that and go after them.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Now that you have been in the NCAA tournament as
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: a player, what advice do you give these young ladies
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: going through it for the first time.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: It really is another softball game where the bases are's
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: sixty feet in the mounds forty three feet away. I mean,
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: you watch how these kids competed against Tennessee earlier this season.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's it's the way we schedule.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: They're prepared. They're going to be prepared.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: So we go out, We're going to set the tone
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: We're going to try to swing the momentum. We're going
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: to create chaos on offense. We're going to play ukon softball.
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: That's going to be the message. Go out there and
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: play our game, and I think we're really tough when
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: we play our best.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: Have you gotten any text from mister Penders?
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: Of course, of course I had.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: I mean, you guys, are I hear you guys? I mean,
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: I know you guys are pretty tight.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Yes, we are. I cannot say enough great things about him.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: How it's such a privilege to be able to work
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: down the hall from a class act like Jim, and
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: he's the guy that I mean, when I can't get
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: a hold of Gino, which is pretty rare, I'm able
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: to pick up the phone and call Jim.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: You could do water.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, right, Yeah, it's It's really incredible, just the two
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: mentors that I have in my corner, and I'm psyched
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: for them as well. I mean, they know how to win.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: I know it's been a little rocky start for them,
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: but I'm in his corner and I'm his biggest fan,
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: and they're gonna crush it down the stretch.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: Tuesday Night's gonna be fun here, Yeah, it is finally.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: Grace talked about this on a podcast. The pressure win
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: here with the success here, the success at Gamble, the
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: success with track and field and football now and baseball
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: to win here, do you feel it?
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: I embrace it. Yeah, that's why I'm here. I mean,
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: what a place like Yukon when people talk about other
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: places in the country and how great it is, I'd
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: put this place up against anybody. I mean, what place
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: has competitive excellence across the board, from baseball to basketballs
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: to I was texting with the women's soccer coach Mags today, yep,
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: and you know her sign went up this year in
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: our suite for Big East champ Cinnari signs going up
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: right across the way. So it just pushes me to
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: drive harder, and it elevates our players, it elevates our staff,
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: and we're excited to bring championships back for softball. We're
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: going to keep it coming.