Gallagher Addresses Media Monday
April 07, 2003 | Softball
Wisconsin softball coach Karen Gallagher spoke to the media on Monday during UW 's weekly news conference. Gallagher talked about the season so far, her confidence in the team, Andrea Kirchberg and more. UW opens its home season this weekend with games against Michigan and Michigan State at the Goodman Diamond.
A transcript of the news conference follows. The news conference video is available by clicking on 'multimedia' in the red menu bar.
Opening Statement: Thank you for being here. I 'd like to say, first of all, I'm very happy to be home. It's been a very long on-the-road process for us. We're excited for this weekend, just to be home and playing in front of our home crowd. I think that's going to help our efforts. I really think that we're one of the best 13-16 teams in the nation. I think for the most part, I came into this year with high expectations because of the past few seasons of going to the NCAA [tournament] and recruiting well and having some very talented young players.
I'm still very optimistic about the season. I think now being in the Big Ten [season], anything goes, anything can happen. We still have our great pitcher, Andrea Kirchberg, who continues to pitch very well for us and as Pat [Klingelhoets] said, we continue to play tough competition. There's nothing easy about being in the Big Ten. There's nothing easy about being one of the top 100 softball programs because what's going on across the country is there's a lot of parity and this game is growing so quickly and the players are getting so much more competitive that I feel like Wisconsin's right in the thick of everything. I feel very proud of what our team has done this year. I don't think our 13-16 record is indicative of what this team is capable of. I think we've played some great competition across the country, put ourselves in the best competitive situations to prepare ourselves for the Big Ten [season]. We've had a couple tough weekends. We came through with two big wins, I thought, the kids played a real confident level of ball yesterday [in a sweep against Indiana] and I feel much better about the situation going into a big weekend.
Michigan State and Michigan are two of the top teams in the Big Ten right now. In the past we have seemed to play very well against them and I think in the past our team has seemed to step up when we needed to at this time of the year seeing that pretty much everything is on the line. They believe that they could have won the Big Ten, I still think they have an opportunity to do that but we really need to approach our games differently. We have some young players, Emily Friedman, Kaitlin Reiss have done a great job for us. We have a great mix of veterans and young players, but I think we're going through some growing pains a bit with some of the younger players, but like I said, I believe in this team. I think we're still capable of doing some great things throughout the rest of our season here.'
On her confidence in the team: 'I know these kids. They have a lot of character, they play with a lot of heart. They approach the game with a lot of intensity and they're winners. I think that we've had some tough losses, we've made some mental mistakes that young players sometimes make. I believe that they're going to step it up when they need to. We've done that in the past. I always tell them they're giving me more gray hair than they really need to because it's crunch time now and they've always stepped up when it's crunch time. We also have some great veteran players that know what this is all about and I think the cream always rises to the top and I think these kids will certainly take us to the next level that we need to be at in this point in the year.'
Taking a young team on the road so often, how much have these players learned' 'We play great competition and that's my philosophy, you prepare these kids by putting them in the best competitive situation to get better. I've seen their game pick up within the last week or so. Weather is an issue. Every weekend we go out in the Big Ten and it's early, it's tough on these kids. It's a tough game to play in weather that's 25 degrees and you expect them to perform at their best. I think that's another learning experience. I think being home, being settled in their own field, knowing what to expect, sleeping in their own beds is a big thing right now. We've traveled more than we ever have, simply because I felt like we have a team that can go out and play in these tough tournaments and handle the traveling. Now that we're home I think it does take a little pressure of the kids, they can relax and get the support of their home crowd. '
Andrea Kirchberg currently has a career low ERA. Is there anything she's doing differently, something she's added this year to be even better' 'Andrea's more of a complete pitcher this year than she ever has been. Obviously her record is not as good as it has been in the past because we haven't stepped up and been the best offensive team that we could be. She's just more confident and I think her game is more complete. I think she 's mentally more composed. I think she's the type of player that says jump on my back and I'll take you where we need to go. She likes that role. That 's what she's about and that's the kind of pitcher you want on the mound for you. She's just more of a complete pitcher, I think it's because she's a senior, she's going out, this is it for her and she 's giving it her best shot. She's had injuries that she's dealt with for four years and she's kind of `sucked-it-up' so to speak and just has done the job for us. I really like her attitude, she's worked hard. She 's getting the opportunity to play some other positions and hit a little bit, so she's really just kind of having fun right now. That's her attitude. She 's enjoying the game. She knows it's going to be over in a couple of months and I think she's putting it all out on the table at this point. '
Is there an advantage or disadvantage to being on the road so much' What about playing on so many different fields' 'All the fields in the Big Ten are pretty comparable. It's just like a basketball court ' you play the game. Just being at home [is good]. Not being on a bus and having to worry about getting home at 12:00 or 12:30 at night and getting up for Monday morning classes or living up to my expectations of following through and trying to get things done the following day. I always try to give them a day off, but ' I think the fact that they're eating food that they want to eat instead of stopping at restaurants and you say this is where we're eating. Sometimes I feel like they get more rest when they're on the road because I can make them go to bed at 10:00, but for the most part, I think the excitement of playing on their home field. We have such a great stadium. I think we have the best stadium in the Big Ten and I certainly think we have one of the best stadiums in the country. There's such a homey feeling to it and our crowds are wonderful. We get so much great support here. To me, when we have a nice day, it's a Sunday afternoon or Saturday afternoon, we have 700 people in the stands, my kids are playing well ' there's no better feeling. And our kids like that. They like the feeling of playing at home.'
Follow Badger Softball This Week on UWBADGERS.COM: If you can't make it out to the Goodman Diamond in person, log on to UWBADGERS.COM for the next best thing. UW takes on the Wolverines Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. and noon, respectively. Wisconsin battles Michigan State on Sunday in a noon double header at Goodman Diamond.
Friday's home opener is scheduled to broadcast live via UWBADGERS.COM thanks to WSUM talent, while Sunday's first game is scheduled to air on WIBA in Madison. Live stats of all games next weekend will be available via UWBADGERS.COM.
