Ahead of the curve
May 12, 2011 | Softball
May 12, 2011
During a season of unexpected triumphs, and milestones - a school-record 15 come-from-behind wins - Yvette Healy may have done her best coaching job managing tough losses and the roster.
"For me," said the first-year softball coach, "it's about maximizing talent and overachieving."
The Badgers have done that with their winningest season since 2005.
"At the end of the year," Healy said, "if you feel like you've got the most out of your kids and did better than what you thought on paper you could do, it's very gratifying.
"We really haven't lost many games to teams with a worse RPI than us. We've done a good job of taking care of business and stealing a few games from teams who are better than us."
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Was there anything she would have done over again if given the chance?
"I'm really pleased with what we've gotten out of them," Healy said. "I don't see anything we would have done dramatically different right now. You're always trying to find the right puzzle pieces.
"Who should be playing what position? And because we haven't been as strong defensively as I would like, I don't know if we put together the best combinations. That occupies my mind right now."
During a recent video session, Healy and assistant coach Randy Schneider reviewed all the little nuances and physical skills that go into playing defense and drew many of the same conclusions.
"We've got to get more athletic," Healy said. "We're looking at, `Are they getting late reads on the ball? Are we positioned correctly?' We have a lot of moving parts from a defensive standpoint."
Why is defense such a concern?
"We've got pitchers who let kids put the ball in play, which is fine," Healy said. "But if you're now overpowering people, your defense is really going to have to be good."
Along with range and skill, decision-making is also a key element in playing good defense.
"The hardest thing is when you have multiple runners," she said, noting that you have to make a quick decision on what's your best option. "Some of that you can talk through and do in practice.
"But there's no substitute for game experience."
That carries over to Healy's staff. Schneider brings a unique dimension in that he's a former head coach; in fact, he's the all-time winningest coach at Valparaiso University.
"He's not just a `yes man' and I wanted that," Healy said. "It keeps me on my toes. I have to justify a lot of my reads on things and we don't see things the same. That's a good thing.
"After every game, we could ask, `How would you have called it differently?' Randy is exceptionally strong and it's my job to utilize my resources. Ultimately it's making us a stronger team."
Healy confided that she has couched some of her own aggressiveness as a coach.
"Our current team can get a little gun shy if we just jumped all over them," she said. "My personality is a little bit more aggressive than I've let on. But I didn't think that's what they needed."
How much better can this current group of players get with another year of seasoning?
"Maturity will definitely help you get better," Healy said. "Practice will definitely help you get better. But looking to next year, we're not bringing in a ton of players; just one scholarship kid.
"We're going to have to do a lot with what we currently have. That's my job."
There has been no shortage of progress, either, much to her delight.
"Tenacity is a big thing," Healy said, listing what she feels this team has established. "I thought it would take a couple of more years to actually get that fight out of our players that we have right now."
That's reflected by the 15 come-from-behind victories.
"We're a momentum team," Healy said. "We're a fiery staff of coaches and the players are taking on a lot of our persona which I love to see. When they play hard, it snowballs, which is great.
"Our team really thrives on the energy and the excitement that comes from playing the absolutely hardest we can in all situations.
That has been a priority from the very beginning. But after a loss last week to Green Bay, she said, "It was one of the first days where I didn't see superior energy. It was average."
That disappointed Healy because "anybody can beat us" when the energy isn't high.
"It was one of the toughest losses of the whole season," she conceded. "But we didn't have the luxury of being mad about it. After the game, we decided what to say to the team and let them go."
Healy delivered a strong message, though.
"Our job is to win," she said, "it's not to pout."
And the more the Badgers have won this season, the more she has demanded.
"The better you get," she said proudly, "the higher the expectations."
The feedback from her peers has already been extremely positive.
"That's encouraging," she said, "because it just makes us want to do more sooner."
Maybe the most telling sign of respect surfaced during a 2-1 loss to No. 2 ranked Michigan; a traditionally strong Big Ten program which has pounded the Badgers over the years.
After the first three UW runners reached base in the first inning, the Wolverines lifted their starting pitcher Stephanie Speierman and replaced her with their senior All-American Jordan Taylor.
"It really validated that we can play with people," Healy said.
But the focus, she emphasized, must stay on executing the fundamentals.
"If you don't sacrifice a runner to second base," she said, "and the next kid comes up and gets a hit, you just missed a chance to score a run. You may have gotten the key hit; the harder thing.
"But you didn't do the easier thing; advance the runner. You may not always have the talent to go toe-to-toe and get that big hit. But not doing the smaller things is an easier way to get frustrated."
Healy doesn't want her players to take anything for granted. "It's something you have to teach, too," she said. "The opportunities are limited and I don't think everyone grasps that at a young age."
In short, she added, "You want them to be hungry and not satisfied."
Healy expects her players to show up that way for this weekend's final home series against Ohio State at the Goodman Diamond. Getting to 30 wins - the team sits at 28-23 - overall would be a significant achievement.
"I want to get as much as we can out of this year," Healy vowed.
