The University of Mississippi Athletics
Thees Introductory Press Conference: 07.05
7/5/2011 | Softball
July 5, 2011
New Ole Miss Softball head coach Windy Thees met with the media on Tuesday and discussed her excitement about coming to Oxford and her goals as mentor of the Rebel program.
Opening Comments:
"I am really excited to have the opportunity to coach at Ole Miss. I have lived close to Oxford for many years and have heard so many positive things about it. I have played softball for a long time, and was playing softball at the time when the SEC really brought softball into the different schools all around the south. It is great to see how it has grown, and I am very excited to coach at an institution where there is so much history."
Observations on the Ole Miss program:
"This program and this university have so much to offer. I've only been an hour and half away for many years. The facilities are first-class and the administration's support of the rich tradition is exciting to see. We have the opportunity to have a great softball program here. Seeing how far softball has come in general is amazing, and the opportunities that the girls have here at Ole Miss makes this really exciting for me."
On coaching philosophy:
"From an old coach, there's a reason they draw a circle around it. The pitcher is the most important spot on the field. Pitching and defense are definitely the most important. I watched the Braves when they had a phenomenal pitching staff that would hold teams to very few runs. It is important in our game to be able to do that. If we can hold people down, we can score runs. I love scoring runs all different ways. I love stealing bases, hit-and-runs, speed and home runs as long as we're not giving them up. I tried to pitch a little while growing up and found that was not for me. I caught for a long time and I love catching. I played a little second base. I am extremely loud. I think that helps me as a coach. That is how we are going to play the game. We are going to go out there to win, and sneak some wins from people that may have a little more talent than us. We are going to find ways to exploit other team's weaknesses. Here in the SEC, the best softball conference in the country, you have to get over .500 and climb the rankings. Once you get to Regionals, you don't have to see another SEC school until the Super Regionals. Our goal is to climb one day at a time."
On rebuilding the Ole Miss program:
"I was able to rebuild at the Division II level [at Georgia College] a team that had not won more than ten games in a season. When you are rebuilding, kids want to win. When they have lost, they will do everything they can to win games. If you can sell it to them and they buy it, we can win games. We have to make them realize that together we can make it through the season, win games and reach the goals we set every year. At Memphis it was a different because we were starting a program from scratch. Every kid we recruited I knew very personally. I went to dinner with their families and made all of the phone calls to them. That is a little different than rebuilding, but it isn't different in that you still have to have a personal relationship with them. In softball it is so important that the girls know that you are in it with them. It is important that they know I am not there to stand over them and that they know that winning is as important to me as it is to them. We will find a way to win games."
On softball in Mississippi:
"The biggest struggle Mississippi has is that they still play slowpitch and fastpitch. A lot of great athletes choose to play slowpitch. When you choose to play both of them your skill set changes between them. I think that really limits how far you can go in a fastpitch season. It is a very different game. The kids who play slowpitch have awesome defensive skills because every ball gets put into play. Offensively, they might be a bit farther behind because they have to switch their offensive philosophy between the two games. You can find girls here in Mississippi that have great defensive skills and athletic ability. The commitment has to be there from them to want to play at the highest level. I always say when they get here that the scholarship they receive is a blessing. It is a gift, not a right. I am going to get every dime out of them with their blood, sweat and tears. Everyone is going to have a little blood and sweat on their uniforms and I usually make a few people cry. Hopefully most of them are good tears."
On expectations:
"The biggest challenge will be getting to know the personnel on this team. I have to sit down and look at each individual talent, each athletic ability and the way they were taught. I have to maximize each athletic ability and get them to play the way I want them to play. I hate changing kids too much. You have to be comfortable playing this game. If I go through and try to change them all, we are going to go through a rough patch. As they come in, I think will be easier for me to gauge them. Each year as I go out and recruit it will be easier for me to teach them because I will recruit players that I know I can coach. I know some of the kids on the team currently through summer ball, and am very excited about coaching them. I already know that some of them will fit in with my coaching style. The others will have to meet me in the middle and we will find a way to maximize each player's talent. It will be a bit of a rough road because it has been a long time since this program has had a real tradition of winning. Every class that comes in will have the same expectations. We want to win games. We want to win all of our non-conference games and when we get into conference play start picking off people one at a time."
