Softball

[4IA]

Wow, we lose the series to the worst team in the league, MSU. How long will this go on? Softball, much like volleyball could be good with mostly Iowa kids. The best talent in this state never hears from Iowa, Alabama, Missouri, Northwestern among others thinks and proves Iowa High Schools produe great players. Go to state tournament and all these coaches plus many others are at the tournament. They say the only coach who does not attend is Iowa coaches.

I hope she can pull a rabbit out of a hat but it seems like that is a little to much to expect. Of course Barta gave her a raise and longer contract and from what I have heard her best player is not coming back. That is not a recipe for success.

 

[LinusPF]

Originally posted by 4IA:
Wow, we lose the series to the worst team in the league, MSU. How long will this go on? Softball, much like volleyball could be good with mostly Iowa kids. The best talent in this state never hears from Iowa, Alabama, Missouri, Northwestern among others thinks and proves Iowa High Schools produe great players. Go to state tournament and all these coaches plus many others are at the tournament. They say the only coach who does not attend is Iowa coaches.

I hope she can pull a rabbit out of a hat but it seems like that is a little to much to expect. Of course Barta gave her a raise and longer contract and from what I have heard her best player is not coming back. That is not a recipe for success.

Of course Looper goes to the state tournament. I've seen her (and the assistants) there myself.
And to say softball could be good with mostly Iowa kids is pretty naive. Iowa kids get about ten D1 scholarships a year. Maybe half of those go on to have above average careers. You assume Iowa (or ISU/Drake/UNI) could get every Iowa kid to commit to them? If you got every Iowa kid you wanted year after year, then you MAY be able to put a decent team on the field.

 

[crankermo]

We were up there for the Friday & Saturday games and stayed for the hitting clinic after the game Saturday. Good crowds both days and enjoyed our time there immensely. Nobody is happy with the year. I had some great talks with the staff and obviously I'm 100% behind them because I truly believe they are building something special despite what it looks like from the outside.

I think it's fair for anyone to be frustrated by this year but the real question is what instate recruits at this present time should Iowa be looking at? IMO it's going to take a leap of faith for a "national" level instate recruit to turn down a current power. My daughter did because she believes in this staff and loves everything about the University and Iowa City. One of the factors in my daughter committing to Iowa is she didn't want to be "another" player at a power program, she wanted to be part of turning a program around.

I can only speak for my daughter's class but they are all extremely excited to play for Iowa and this staff. They all had multiple offers from power programs but chose Iowa because of what it has to offer. Iowa should be and will be a national program again. For the record I'm all for building a program through instate kids if possible, but it takes those instate kids turning down the softball elite also and believing in the coaches vision for the future.

 

[Row55]

I started watching Iowa softball in the mid-80's. I missed the late 90's and early 2000's but picked up again after that. IMHO this staff in it's 4th season, despite coach Loopers pitching reputation along with coach May-Johnson's pro softball credentials shows no sign of recruiting or coaching at a level that would bring Iowa back to the level of success experienced during coach Blevins' time. Senior-wise, Massey is a Blevins recruit and Zoller came as a walk-on. As I understand it Blank was an automatic Hawkeye due to her family's Iowa City connections. Most of the Texas and California recruits get here and struggle to bat above .200, and pitching looks to drop off substantially next year.

Crankermo's enthusiasm is amusing, but not grounded in on-field results.

 

[cidhawkeye]

So 10 D1 recruits a year, 5 have above average careers, get two of those to stay in state a year, that gives you 8 at a time on the roster. That would be a solid base to build upon, who knows you get one of those below average career kids who happens to be two classes ahead of an elite type player, the first below average player enjoys their time at Iowa and helps lobby the elite player to attend Iowa and turn down the power programs. There is strong evidence that there needs to be some adjustments made in the program.

 

[herkyfan56]

Originally posted by Row55:
I started watching Iowa softball in the mid-80's. I missed the late 90's and early 2000's but picked up again after that. IMHO this staff in it's 4th season, despite coach Loopers pitching reputation along with coach May-Johnson's pro softball credentials shows no sign of recruiting or coaching at a level that would bring Iowa back to the level of success experienced during coach Blevins' time. Senior-wise, Massey is a Blevins recruit and Zoller came as a walk-on. As I understand it Blank was an automatic Hawkeye due to her family's Iowa City connections. Most of the Texas and California recruits get here and struggle to bat above .200, and pitching looks to drop off substantially next year.

Crankermo's enthusiasm is amusing, but not grounded in on-field results.

He's drinking the kool-aid, which is fine. That's what you want and expect from someone who is totally invested in the program. It's the only way that things will turn around, so it's a positive thing from that perspective.

Most longtime observers of the program can see the major cracks in the foundation right now, and find the situation disturbing. We don't have a lot of blind faith to donate to the program at this point. We all hope for the best. but many of us don't see it working out with this staff.

 

[hawkeye4316]

I think both sides of this are pretty spot on. Unfortunately, this is what happens to a program nowadays with the growth of social media paired with not meeting (or coming close to) expectations. Particularly with a program with a solid history.

It is sadly a death spiral that is hard to over come. Attitudes deteriorate in the fan base which spills over to recruiting and in turn the teams.

Any small successes are immediately discounted as luck or a fluke and every single misstep is magnified immensely. it's hard to function in negativity and second guessing.

I'm a really casual SB fan but hope people will cut some slack and wait it out. I'd say if there isn't much progress made next season, then it is time to take a really hard look and Barta needs barraged with emails. (still have to be careful of sabotaging the kids)

For now, everyone can hopefully show support publicly by putting on the happy face even though they're dying inside and behind closed doors.

 

[crankermo]

Herky and Row,

Do you feel it's the coaching, lack of overall talent on the roster or a combo of both?

Like I said in my earlier post, NOBODY should be or is happy with this season. The only way it's going to change is to have people behind the program. From what I've gathered on these message boards is that there is a severe divide between Blevin supporters and supporters of the current staff. NO progam can survive with such a divide driving instate and out of state recruits elsewhere. Start telling the home state girls to stay home and help rebuild the program

Anyone that knows me will tell you that I'm brutally honest and do not think with my emotions. I've been around national level softball for a long time and have talked to the best coaches in the game and I put this staff among the best in the game, period. The results aren't what ANYONE expected and people should be frustrated and angry, any competitor would be. When we made the decision to let our daughter commit we knew what the current state of the program was but we bought in for the future and IMO it's going to be worthwhile. Do I still think the program is a few years away? yes. Do I believe this staff will turn it around? yes. I just hope the fans stick with it and back this program. Every person I've talked to in Iowa City has been very friendly and I hope to meet some of you in the future.

 

[cidhawkeye]

I am happy you are so supportive and your daughter is coming to Iowa. Can I ask what you think based on your confidence in this staff had caused a season like this?

 

[crankermo]

Cid,

Honestly there is no one reason for this year. I think there's some carry over from getting left out of the tournament last year and maybe players and coaches trying to hard to get over the hump. Pressure will make a person not perform the way they need to. Honestly the biggest issue I see this year has been the inconsistent offense. An inconsistent offfense puts pressure on the entire team.

For some reason things just haven't clicked this year. It happens in every sport and to the best coaches. All I do know is that my family is truly honored to be a part of the University of Iowa and Iowa City. When people here ask me why my daughter is going to Iowa I just tell them you won't understand until you set foot on campus in Iowa City and get the chance to talk to Coach Looper and the staff. Coach Looper and her staff are doing things the right way, socially and morally, it's only a matter of time before the results come. The University of Iowa and iowa City are just special IMO.

 

[73chief]

Crank,

Certainly appreciate you contribution to the SB dicussion the past few months and obvioulsy understand your enthusiasm for the program considering your daughter's decision to play at Iowa, But you lost me with your comment about Looper and staff being one of the best coaching staffs in the country. Right now I would not even rank her staff in the top half of the B1G, let alone one of the best in the country. With the upgrades to facilities that Iowa State has made, I would even say that Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler(sp) is probably running the more attractive program in the state.

There are clearly some major structural problems with this program right now and they are pretty obvious. Unfortunately for Looper, many of these were created by Gary Barta before she was hired. However, her pedigree was that she developed players once she got them. Frankly, she has not shown any ability to do that at Iowa, and certainly no ability to do it with the players she recruits. In fact there are far more examples of players regressing once they arrive in Iowa City.

I know there has been talk of facilities upgrades but short of a booster coming out of the wood work and making a $20 million committment to build a baseball/softball complex, I think you are looking at 5-7 years before you see that become a reality. Even if Barta had the fund raising and plans ready today, the slow pace of our University's building approval process would mean probably 2-3 years before you even broke ground and that is assuming the planning process is significantly farther along than it currently is.

The Looper hire was a clearly a fall back option when it was made. I was hoping she could get things rebuilt but after 4 seasons, it is pretty clear we are not even in the ball park to compete for a B1G Championship anytime in the next 5-7 years. Unfortunately for us, she will be our coach for at least 3-4 more years regardless of results because that is how Gary Barta likes to run things.

 

[crankermo]

73,

I also appreciate your comments and want to hear more of them. You are very insightful and frankly I love softball talk. As I stated before my daughter and I made trips to bigtime programs that had all the amenities. Honestly softball recruiting has become a game of who has the most bling to show off. Personally I think that a bad way to decide your kids future. My philosophy was education first and the amount of trust I had in a coaching staff to develop my daughter as a player as well as a person. IMO Coach Looper and this staff passed that test with flying colors.

I'm just like everyone else on here, I'm disappointed in the season but I'm also looking down the road. I like what I've been told. This is just my opinion but the biggest obstacle Iowa faces is that the outside doesn't realize how AWESOME the University and Iowa city are. Get the recruits to step foot there and it will change their mind. I was talking with another recruits dad this weekend and he expressed the same line of thought. His daughter had an offer and a visit planned to Minnesota and cancelled it after their visit to Iowa. Coach looper can sell her program but the kids have to make it there first.

Coach Looper has a passion for everything Iowa. People with that level of passion don't fail. My family and the other families in my daughters class are 100% behind her. We knew it was going to be a bumpy road but that's what makes it fun. I look forward to more dialogue.

 

[73chief]

Originally posted by crankermo:
73,

I also appreciate your comments and want to hear more of them. You are very insightful and frankly I love softball talk. As I stated before my daughter and I made trips to bigtime programs that had all the amenities. Honestly softball recruiting has become a game of who has the most bling to show off. Personally I think that a bad way to decide your kids future. My philosophy was education first and the amount of trust I had in a coaching staff to develop my daughter as a player as well as a person. IMO Coach Looper and this staff passed that test with flying colors.

I'm just like everyone else on here, I'm disappointed in the season but I'm also looking down the road. I like what I've been told. This is just my opinion but the biggest obstacle Iowa faces is that the outside doesn't realize how AWESOME the University and Iowa city are. Get the recruits to step foot there and it will change their mind. I was talking with another recruits dad this weekend and he expressed the same line of thought. His daughter had an offer and a visit planned to Minnesota and cancelled it after their visit to Iowa. Coach looper can sell her program but the kids have to make it there first.

Coach Looper has a passion for everything Iowa. People with that level of passion don't fail. My family and the other families in my daughters class are 100% behind her. We knew it was going to be a bumpy road but that's what makes it fun. I look forward to more dialogue.

This has been the recruiting challenge for all sports at Iowa for the last 70 years. Not just Softball. So in this case your opinion is also fact.

 

[crankermo]

73,

Can you expand on the structural problems within the program that were created by Barta? I'm not aware of anything that happened with the the previous staff other than what I've read on here. I would love to hear your thoughts on the issues and how to fix them.

Also I want to thank all the posters here, this dialogue is very insightful and interesting to me.

 

[73chief]

Originally posted by crankermo:
73,

Can you expand on the structural problems within the program that were created by Barta? I'm not aware of anything that happened with the the previous staff other than what I've read on here. I would love to hear your thoughts on the issues and how to fix them.

Also I want to thank all the posters here, this dialogue is very insightful and interesting to me.

I don't want to bore you with the Gayle Blevins forced retirement story if you have already heard it, but it is fair to say that Barta really shot himself in the foot and payed for it when it came time to hire her replacement. As you well know, the coaching fraternity/sorority in any sport is tight and they talk. Once word got out what happened to Gayle, the candidate pool became very shallow. More importantly Gayle had built a 25+ year rapport with the Iowa high school coaches and was extremely popular within that group. The circumstances surrounding her departure really alienated the core of that group. So Barta's actions put Looper behind the eight ball before she even moved into her office. With that said Looper apparently has done nothing to help her own cause. I'm not going to bore you with the stories I have heard because frankly I didn't see things first hand so can't confirm 100% that they are ture or not. However, I've heard them from multiple people and they have been pretty consistent which leads me to believe they are more true than not. If so, then she is frankly not thought of very highly among prep softball circles in Iowa.

This leads me back to the conversation that you and I have already had. In an equivalency scholarship sport at Iowa, you simply will not have long-term success if you are unable to build the core of your roster with Iowa Prep athletes. The math just does not add up.

 

[hawkaholic]

A couple of things 1) I don't think our facilities are an obstacle to recruiting. It has been mentioned in previous posts that maybe it was. While we may not have the greatest facilities they are not bad. 2) I played mens' fast-pitch for over 20 years and coached high school softball for longer than that. I have attended many softball coaches' clinics over the years and have heard high level D1 coaches present at clinics. I probably attended 15 of Blevin's clinics while she was here. I attended one of Looper's clinics a year ago and came away unimpressed. There was one coach on staff that I would have confidence in.
I would point out that I am not a know-it-all because of my softball experiences. I would be the first to tell you I would have no idea of how to run a D1 softball program. But, I would also tell you that I can spot people who will be successful in the coaching world. I attended several of Hayden Fry's coaching clinics years ago and saw first hand how people like Fry, Alvarez, Ferents and Snyder carried themselves and when they talked you could tell they knew what they were doing and they knew what it took to win. I would put Gayle Blevins in that same category. I did not get that feeling with this softball staff.

 

[73chief]

hawkaholic,

Thanks for your post. The facilities are not the worst in the world but they certainly are not a big selling point in recruiting right now. 15 years ago I would have told you they were top in the B1G. Now they are well in the bottom half. Lack of an indoor practice space that the team can access 24/7 in the off-season and the fact that the current stadium has been destroyed by flooding twice in a 15 year period are not real good selling points right now. I do think within 10 years we have a new joint baseball/softball complex similar to what Indiana built a few years ago, but it is still down the line.

 

[crankermo]

Hawkaholic,

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate your input. I too have been to many coaching clinics and have talked to the softball elite. I've listened and talked to Pat Murphy, Gasso, Enquist, Candrea and Mike White to name a few. What were your concerns about Looper after the clinic you attended?

73,

Thanks for the reply. I hate to hear about the divide between Coah Looper and the Iowa softball community. How do you feel she could fix that fracture? Do you feel like she's "big timing" local girls?

I've always been a firm believer that any program needs to be built on the backs of local talent. Those kids will give you more effort because they are naturally more emotionally invested.

 

[73chief]

Originally posted by crankermo:
Hawkaholic,

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate your input. I too have been to many coaching clinics and have talked to the softball elite. I've listened and talked to Pat Murphy, Gasso, Enquist, Candrea and Mike White to name a few. What were your concerns about Looper after the clinic you attended?

73,

Thanks for the reply. I hate to hear about the divide between Coah Looper and the Iowa softball community. How do you feel she could fix that fracture? Do you feel like she's "big timing" local girls?

I've always been a firm believer that any program needs to be built on the backs of local talent. Those kids will give you more effort because they are naturally more emotionally invested.

How you fix it is above my pay grade so I don't know the answer. You have to reach out and develope relationships I guess. Showing up at the state softball tournament once a year is probably not enough of an effort to get it done. It does not sound like she aggressively recruits Iowa prep talent. The fact that she has only two Iowa Prep players on the team and one of those is Kara Misel who was coming to Iowa regardless of who the coach was, speaks volumns to me. There has been plenty of Iowa prep talent that has left the state the last few years that would be talent upgrades for this current team.

 

[crankermo]

73,

I understand your point completely. For some reason instate recruiting has become a thing of the past for a lot of power conference schools. MU expects all of its instate talent to go there for books and $1,000. The kids that have options are going elsewhere but the kids that decide to stay MU uses them as proof that they recruit the state still. Unfortunately the general public is blind to most of the coming and goings of D1 softball. Recruiting is becoming cutthroat and parents and kids better be wary or they are going to get burned BIGTIME.

 

[73chief]

Weird end to the Iowa-Iowa State game. Can't remember the last time there was a tie in collegiate softball.

Right decision to call the game when they did all things considering.

 

[hawkaholic]

Considering the game is played in-state you would think the game could have been suspended and completed another day.

 

[LinusPF]

Originally posted by hawkaholic:

Considering the game is played in-state you would think the game could have been suspended and completed another day.

There are a handful of ties every year across the country - rain/darkness/travel.

Even with the game in-state, it would be kinda silly to travel to play two innings.
(And it's not like either team is trying to pad their NCAA tournament resume'.

Besides, there's no real room on Iowa's schedule. Iowa traveled to Indiana on Thursday.
Next week there are already two mid-week games, and then the final B1G series.

And Iowa probably wouldn't want to play early the following week given the B1G tournament starts on Thursday.
Then the season's over.

 

[hawkaholic]

I agree it would not make much sense to travel to play a couple of innings. I would have thought about finishing the tied game and then playing a second game. I don't think we are at the limit for number of games since we had several rained out in our Feb/March tournaments. I did not look at the remaining schedule to see where it might fit in.