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re: Alabama Softball: SEC Champions!
Posted on 4/21/21 at 9:17 am to Alabama_Fan
Posted on 4/21/21 at 9:17 am to Alabama_Fan
Warning TL;DR (and doesn’t really say anything to boot)
I remember when Wimp was in his hay day. Multiple consecutive sweet 16 appearances. Many players drafted into the NBA. Coleman would often sell out and would be rocking. With all that, people (including yours truly) would observe that Wimp was good, but that he couldn’t get past the sweet 16. Maybe another coach could take us to the next level. Then he was gone. Basketball had some bouts of success but nothing sustained. In 2021 Bama finally gets to the sweet 16 and I’m crying tears of joy thinking Bama is good again and is finally on the brink of sustained success (and thinking back on what a fool I was all those years ago to not fully appreciate what Wimp had going at the time).
That’s where I find myself with softball. Murphy has had unarguable success and has kept Alabama among the top teams in the sport year in and year out. Hosting regionals and super regionals year after year and annual trips to the college World Series. I wish baseball at The Joe had half the atmosphere of a softball game at Rhodes. So I’m not ready to pull the plug on the Murphy era.
I do wish he would show some outward signs of adapting (recruit and field players who look like athletes and who swing the bat; require players to adhere to strength and conditioning and nutritional programs year round). Investigate why softball is experiencing a rash of injuries (especially knees) and take steps to keep the team healthy through strength and conditioning. Hire a hitting coach (and while we’re at it, maybe hire one for baseball too).
Should Bama be in the market for a new softball coach? Or should Bama fans be careful of what they wish for? Only time will tell.
I remember when Wimp was in his hay day. Multiple consecutive sweet 16 appearances. Many players drafted into the NBA. Coleman would often sell out and would be rocking. With all that, people (including yours truly) would observe that Wimp was good, but that he couldn’t get past the sweet 16. Maybe another coach could take us to the next level. Then he was gone. Basketball had some bouts of success but nothing sustained. In 2021 Bama finally gets to the sweet 16 and I’m crying tears of joy thinking Bama is good again and is finally on the brink of sustained success (and thinking back on what a fool I was all those years ago to not fully appreciate what Wimp had going at the time).
That’s where I find myself with softball. Murphy has had unarguable success and has kept Alabama among the top teams in the sport year in and year out. Hosting regionals and super regionals year after year and annual trips to the college World Series. I wish baseball at The Joe had half the atmosphere of a softball game at Rhodes. So I’m not ready to pull the plug on the Murphy era.
I do wish he would show some outward signs of adapting (recruit and field players who look like athletes and who swing the bat; require players to adhere to strength and conditioning and nutritional programs year round). Investigate why softball is experiencing a rash of injuries (especially knees) and take steps to keep the team healthy through strength and conditioning. Hire a hitting coach (and while we’re at it, maybe hire one for baseball too).
Should Bama be in the market for a new softball coach? Or should Bama fans be careful of what they wish for? Only time will tell.
3
Posted on 4/21/21 at 1:21 pm to Alabama_Fan
Posted on 4/21/21 at 11:52 pm to Alabama_Fan
In response to your post: you make a good point. I would argue though, that there was nothing wrong with Wimp’s coaching, Alabama just always seemed to run into the wrong (hot) team in the tournament. The coaching was solid, Bama was just snakebit.
On the other hand, Murphy has never evolved even though softball as a sport has evolved and there’s a lot more talent being spread around. Alabama and Florida used to dominate the SEC. Not anymore. The rest of the league has caught Alabama and we are still playing the same game Murphy has always played: find an ace and throw her until her arm falls off or the season ends, whichever comes first. (And they have happened simultaneously sometimes!) Never hire a hitting coach (like Bama can’t afford one, why HASN’T he hired someone?), be a players coach and big buddies with your players. Ignore conditioning and strength training and the nutritional support the athletes have access to, and fall short of the natty every time but one. Byrne needs to walk in his office and tell him the hitting coach is fired and a new one will be hired. And if the head coach doesn’t like that decision, he can lose that job too. Murphy is way too comfortable in his position and way too complacent.
It might be a gamble to put Murphy on notice, but Alabama softball is a national power unlike the Alabama basketball team that Wimp coached. I don’t want Murphy fired, his performance has earned him more time. But I do want to wake him up and have him shake up the program and evolve. If he can’t do that them maybe it’s best for both parties to move on. Alabama softball is stuck in a rut and is not improving. That’s not a good thing because if you’re not moving forward in this league, you’re moving backwards.
On the other hand, Murphy has never evolved even though softball as a sport has evolved and there’s a lot more talent being spread around. Alabama and Florida used to dominate the SEC. Not anymore. The rest of the league has caught Alabama and we are still playing the same game Murphy has always played: find an ace and throw her until her arm falls off or the season ends, whichever comes first. (And they have happened simultaneously sometimes!) Never hire a hitting coach (like Bama can’t afford one, why HASN’T he hired someone?), be a players coach and big buddies with your players. Ignore conditioning and strength training and the nutritional support the athletes have access to, and fall short of the natty every time but one. Byrne needs to walk in his office and tell him the hitting coach is fired and a new one will be hired. And if the head coach doesn’t like that decision, he can lose that job too. Murphy is way too comfortable in his position and way too complacent.
It might be a gamble to put Murphy on notice, but Alabama softball is a national power unlike the Alabama basketball team that Wimp coached. I don’t want Murphy fired, his performance has earned him more time. But I do want to wake him up and have him shake up the program and evolve. If he can’t do that them maybe it’s best for both parties to move on. Alabama softball is stuck in a rut and is not improving. That’s not a good thing because if you’re not moving forward in this league, you’re moving backwards.
Posted on 4/22/21 at 9:37 am to Alabama_Fan
quote:This is an awkward time for us as Tide softball fans. We are clearly lacking in the physicality aspect of the game compared to other top-tier teams. He's having to stack slap-hitters back-to-back, and deal with .200 hitters around the bottom of the order. Neither of these scenarios is a winning formula, imo.
I do wish he would show some outward signs of adapting (recruit and field players who look like athletes and who swing the bat; require players to adhere to strength and conditioning and nutritional programs year round). Investigate why softball is experiencing a rash of injuries (especially knees) and take steps to keep the team healthy through strength and conditioning. Hire a hitting coach (and while we’re at it, maybe hire one for baseball too).
Should Bama be in the market for a new softball coach? Or should Bama fans be careful of what they wish for? Only time will tell.
I'm afraid that if his weekend pitching wasn't elite, we'd probably be looking at a .500 SEC winning %.
All that said, the guy's won a natty, had us in The Tournament often, and seems to be able to stay just under that elite category we all aspire to.
The thing that resonates with me the most is what a previous poster said...."in the SEC, if you're sitting still, you're backing up!"
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