Q&A with Ohio State Coach Linda Kalafatis – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Jan. 29, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio – With 10 returning letterwinners, including seven returning starters, the Ohio State softball team has a solid nucleus back from its 2006 team that won 39 games and went to the NCAA tournament. But the Buckeyes also have eight newcomers, so the job of blending those two groups is key to Ohio State’s success in 2007.
That task officially began Jan. 15 when the Buckeyes held their first practice. Ohio State head coach Linda Kalafatis sat down with OhioStateBuckeyes.com over the weekend to talk about it.
Q: Coach, practice officially began for the Buckeyes Jan. 15, but what had the team members been doing on their own in the offseason up until that day?
A: “Our strength coach, Tom Palumbo, had our team report on the very first day of classes (Jan. 3) and he didn’t want to waste any time. He had our team in shape and ready to get to work on the field. Coach Palumbo has done a great job of knowing when to push our kids and what to expect from them. I feel really fortunate to have such a knowledgeable person and a genuinely good person working with us. On top of that, our kids were in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center getting some swings in, throwing the ball around and preparing to be in ball shape before practice officially started.”
Q: What has your focus in practice been here these first couple weeks of practice?
A: “We still have some question marks about who will do what for us, but we’re a pretty veteran team so we have less question marks about our personnel than maybe in some other years. With this many rookies (8), our task, and their task, is to learn and execute the way we want it done. We’re coming along. We’re moving from fundamental drills and positional work to more whole team and situational work. We’re getting closer and closer to being as game-like as possible. We had our first two scrimmages the last two days and had umpires in today’s scrimmage. We’ll work our pitchers and hitters in counts more and we’ll have umpires every day next week, whether it’s in cages or on the field.”
Q: What are a couple things you have been most pleased with so far?
A: “The focus and work ethic of our team has been very good all year long. Part of that is because we’ve got veterans who know what it takes and part of that is because we have young players who came in with a very good work ethic. In that regard, our team has blended well. We’ve got a group that has come to field ready to get better every day. I’ve been pleased with how our team has responded each time we’ve presented something to them, whether it’s improving our defense, hustling more between drills or supporting other teams on campus.”
Q: Your team went undefeated in the fall, but what are some things you wanted the team to improve on during the offseason and have they met some of those goals?
A: “Well, the fall is really all about the freshmen, about getting them acclimated to the college speed of the game and finding out who can do what. Of course we work on preparing the whole team, but we’re not as focused on line-ups and records as we are on preparing to win. Now it’s about winning and who will do the things necessary to help us win and that’s when you expect your veterans to really lead the way. Like every other team, we’re a work in progress, but it’s fun to see us get better each week.”
Q: You have five seniors which will provide a lot of leadership, but you have eight newcomers, too, so there is a lot of youth, as well. How have those two groups managed to blend together so far?
A: “On the field and in the weight room, we’ve blended pretty well. I think we have some more work to do off the field and our team recognizes that and is working towards that. As we begin the season, I think it will improve because of the traveling and the mix of roommates. With a fairly large senior class (5) and a large rookie class (8), there’s four years difference between most of our players and your thoughts and frame of reference is different as a freshmen than it is as a senior. We’ve got really good kids and they’ll work to make sure our chemistry becomes a strength of our team. I don’t have any doubts about that.”
Q: In the couple weeks of practice before the season-opener Feb. 9, what are some of your goals for the team?
A: “Our number one goal was to get healthy. We finally have everyone practicing full go now; we haven’t had that literally all year. My next goal is to eliminate simple errors. We’ve stressed defense since the fall and we have a team mark we want to achieve this season and it starts in executing in practice every day. Another goal is to become stronger as a team, beyond ground balls and line drives. From signals and plays, to understanding why we want to do what we’re trying to do, to our work in the weight room. And lastly, I want to be certain that we are a prepared and confident team on opening day.”
### GO BUCKS! ###
