STARKVILLE — Passing showers Tuesday afternoon didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the Mississippi State University softball team.
The Bulldogs worked their way through their initial practice of 2012 inside the MSU Indoor Softball Complex as the first step toward the Feb. 9 season opener against the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala., and the debut of new coach Vann Stuedeman.
“From day one of the fall to day one of the spring is a completely different skills set and different mind-set,” Stuedeman said. “Not only are we better at softball, but we are stronger in our minds. We are beginning to believe that all of us together can achieve some great things. It has been phenomenal growth from the fall to the spring.”
The Bulldogs return 17 letterwinners and seven starters from last season’s 24-32 team. While MSU qualified for the eight-team Southeastern Conference tournament, a second-straight losing season meant the end of coach Jay Miller’s run after nine seasons as coach.
Miller took the team to six of its eight all-time NCAA tournament regional berths. However, MSU missed that mark in 2010 and 2011.
“A lot of us had lost confidence over the last couple of years,” MSU junior pitcher Kylie Vry said. “Having those confidences back really helps you with going to practice every day. We have the physical part down pat. We are working on the mental aspects of the game.”
Stuedeman, a former assistant coach (pitching) at the University of Alabama, found the mental component of the game lacking when she signed on for her first head coaching gig at the Division I level.
“The fall was a get-to-know-you type period,” Stuedeman said. “The players need to know the coaches’ philosophy. As a coaching staff, the fall gave us a chance to learn our players better. We had to learn mentalities. We had to learn how we are going to motivate each player individually. We need to know how to motivate as a team as well.
“We wanted to know what the missing piece was. We hammered that home this fall. We got a lot of good information about where we are and where we are going. Our work this fall was almost all on the mental aspects of the game.”
Many of the players have liked Stuedeman’s approach. Stuedeman spent the past 11 seasons as pitching coach at Alabama. She helped lead the squad to six Women’s College World Series appearances and three Southeastern Conference championships.
“She has made a huge difference in our program,” senior outfielder Ka’ili Smith said. “She told us in the first meeting the past was the past and that she was our future. We take it day by day. She is determined. We feed off her. She is the most positive person I have ever been around. We look forward to seeing her each day.”
In a departure from the norm, MSU played fall softball games around the state in Flora, Meridian, and Tupelo. Stuedeman believes her job is part coach, part promoter.
“I have really embraced being a Mississippian,” Stuedeman said. “I want to cultivate a sport I love in a state I love for a school I love. What better way than to let the people of our state meet our players? We want our community to realize we are here for them. We want our fans to come out and have a great afternoon watching our girls play on our campus.”
With the nurturing of a new coaching staff and the support of fans around the state, the players have found the resolve to invest the extra hours they hope will help the program turn the corner.
“We worked so hard in the fall,” Smith said. “Then we had a month-and-a-half Christmas break. You can tell how hard we all worked during that time off, too. This team is determined to get better every day. We strive to pick each other up. Whether it is the weight room, the classroom, the practice field, it seems like we have a new confidence. It is very contagious.”
While Stuedeman likes the attitude of her players, the next three weeks will allow the team to fine-tune some of the physical mechanics of the game. A demanding schedule opens with four games at South Alabama’s Mardi Gras Classic. It also features another appearance in the highly regarded NFCA Leadoff Classic, which shifts this year to Clearwater, Fla.
“If you want to look at a couple of areas, we need to jell defensively,” Stuedeman said. “We also need to learn to be better at situational hitting. We tell the girls everyday it is a marathon, not a sprint. We need to improve daily. We have 25 players, so if each player gets 1 percent better than we get 25 percent better as a team. We need to be relentless competitors. We will work toward that daily.
“We want to learn how to win the late innings. We need to learn how to finish games. I look forward to seeing our mental outlook when we face adversity. These are all of the challenges that we look forward to facing.”
Smith also is looking forward to seeing how the team grows.
“We know where coach Vann has been, and we know where we want to go,” Smith said. “I am ready to get started. February 9th can’t get here soon enough.”
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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