Gopher Softball 2020

[Panthadad2]

Quote from a prominent player parent on the team's Facebook announcement "These girls deserve so much more".

That could mean more than one thing, but...

 

[Hrothgar]

Remember ... these girls are the 1% of players good enough to make it to the D1 level so as you sit back and “judge” their lackluster play maybe it is because of the environment they are playing in. AGREE 100% Trachsel had no idea how to manage a game from behind the plate. There has to be a correlation why so many catchers have left the program ... 3, two of them starters, in her first two years coaching. And why has Jamie never used the catcher from Nevada? She played for a nationally ranked travel team in Southern California all through high school.

I'm not sitting back and judging their play, as you suggest; I'm describing it as I saw it first-hand. If by "the environment they are playing in" you mean the apparent lack of spark and imagination from the coach's box, I'd agree (if the key word is "apparent"; I have no inside knowledge). What remains clearest in my mind is the first Missouri game & the Kentucky game in Clearwater 2020. The opponents showed up ready to play, even in warmups. The Gophers showed no real drive at all nor did I see any attempts from the sidelines to get them going during the games. Aside from 2 good pitchers and 2 good hitters, they appeared either vastly overrated talent-wise or fully uninspired.

 

[ClassOf98Gopher]

“What remains clearest in my mind is the first Missouri game & the Kentucky game in Clearwater 2020.... Aside from 2 good pitchers and 2 good hitters, they appeared either vastly overrated talent-wise or fully uninspired.”

I know I harp on this expectations management thing but even NCAA college World Series and Women’s College World Series championship teams lose 8-15 games a year. Even really good NCAA softball teams, top 20 type teams like the Gophers, are going to lose some games here and there against other top 25 teams like Kentucky/Missouri. Those are good teams!

I just feel that if expectations are off then disappointment is more likely.

All that said, I can’t speak to the warm up thing because I wasn’t there. Maybe you are totally right. Just that by the very nature of this sport, it’s just not like basketball. After all, even the late 90s Yankees didn’t blow through seasons like the Jordan era Bulls did. It’s just a tough type of sport (Softball/Baseball) to win all the time... even if you are good.

 

[MRJ]

Quote from a prominent player parent on the team's Facebook announcement "These girls deserve so much more".

That could mean more than one thing, but...

The only thing I can gather (due to the timing of said comment) is that it is directed at or about Trachsel. And I can't say that I blame said parent if that's the case.

This is a group of seniors that have done nothing but win since they got here and now they've been summarily dumped by two different coaches in a stretch of about four years. That crap gets old.

At least Allister stuck it out for four seven years. Trachsel jumped ship after a quick, cup-of-coffee of two years a full two days after raving about how special the returning players were, complete with the "M" emoji and everything.

That's the kind of garbage that leads to such comments.

And for the record, there a few comments from parents in that thread and they're not exactly complimentary of her.

 

[MNsoftballfan]

At least Allister stuck it out for four seven years. Trachsel jumped ship after a quick, cup-of-coffee of two years a full two days after raving about how special the returning players were, complete with the "M" emoji and everything.

That's the kind of garbage that leads to such comments.

I am not a huge fan of Jamie's, but I think that is a bit unfair. Her contract was up in May. She was offered a 1 (one!) year extension. Can you imagine Fleck's contract about to expire and we only offer him an additional year? She has the right to seek more than a one year deal for her own financial security. With her record at MN I am sure she expected a long term deal. A one year offer is pretty insulting and is tantamount to forcing her out the door.

 

[Hrothgar]

I know I harp on this expectations management thing but even NCAA college World Series and Women’s College World Series championship teams lose 8-15 games a year. Even really good NCAA softball teams, top 20 type teams like the Gophers, are going to lose some games here and there against other top 25 teams like Kentucky/Missouri. Those are good teams!

I just feel that if expectations are off then disappointment is more likely.

All that said, I can’t speak to the warm up thing because I wasn’t there. Maybe you are totally right. Just that by the very nature of this sport, it’s just not like basketball. After all, even the late 90s Yankees didn’t blow through seasons like the Jordan era Bulls did. It’s just a tough type of sport (Softball/Baseball) to win all the time... even if you are good.

If you reread my post, you'll see I never said a word about winning/losing. I was talking about being competitive.

 

[MRJ]

I am not a huge fan of Jamie's, but I think that is a bit unfair. Her contract was up in May. She was offered a 1 (one!) year extension. Can you imagine Fleck's contract about to expire and we only offer him an additional year? She has the right to seek more than a one year deal for her own financial security. With her record at MN I am sure she expected a long term deal. A one year offer is pretty insulting and is tantamount to forcing her out the door.

Then she needed to cool it on social media.

Instead, she made several posts raving about her returners for next year and how "special" everything was going to be. It comes off as completely dishonest, which it was.

If she really wanted to be here, she could have worked on a deal unless the U told her to take a flying leap (maybe they did, I don't know. And if that's the case, then obviously, do what you have to do).

But if she's moving simply because she felt disrespected about not getting a longer extension, she needed to make it clear what her situation was.

As it stands, a few of the parents are apparently pretty steamed, which says plenty imo.

 

[MNsoftballfan]

Then she needed to cool it on social media.

Instead, she made several posts raving about her returners for next year and how "special" everything was going to be. It comes off as completely dishonest, which it was.

If she really wanted to be here, she could have worked on a deal unless the U told her to take a flying leap (maybe they did, I don't know. And if that's the case, then obviously, do what you have to do).

But if she's moving simply because she felt disrespected about not getting a longer extension, she needed to make it clear what her situation was.

As it stands, a few of the parents are apparently pretty steamed, which says plenty imo.

Like I said, I'm not a huge fan. But I think Coyle needs to be asked why he offered the most successful softball coach in program history a mere one year extension on her expiring contract.

 

[Holy Man]

Like I said, I'm not a huge fan. But I think Coyle needs to be asked why he offered the most successful softball coach in program history a mere one year extension on her expiring contract.

Fair question. Was the offer recent and taking into consideration the possible crashing of finances, or was it a while back and designed to get her to quit? Either way, her departure was not gracious or timed well. She could have left a polite message to the U community and moved on. This smells like a major in flames burning bridge. That can't be good for her.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

Trachsel seemed like a really good fit and the on field results were really good although primarily with Alister's players. The off the field results didn't seem to go as well and there seemed to be a lot of tension. This isn't a great time for it and you wonder how it will affect the roster but it may be best for the long term that a new coach will be coming in.

 

[ClassOf98Gopher]

Fair question. Was the offer recent and taking into consideration the possible crashing of finances, or was it a while back and designed to get her to quit? Either way, her departure was not gracious or timed well. She could have left a polite message to the U community and moved on. This smells like a major in flames burning bridge. That can't be good for her.

These are all really valuable points and I honestly have learned SO MUCH today around a topic (Gopher softball) that I am so passionate about. This outlet is good.

It is unclear to me if the softball program will improve or regress from this. It is unclear to me exactly why it happened. What is clear to me is that Jamie, despite any and all faults, wound up at a not bad job. The Ole Miss job is not a terrible one for her to complain about... I mean it is not Florida or Texas or Oklahoma, or UCLA, but it ain’t bad.

And also what is clear enough to me is so long as Fiser returns next year, and there are not any major transfers, we should be alright and competing for a Big Ten championship no matter who the next coach is. Then after that.. of course... more unclarity. All of that future will be on the shoulders of our next coach. I just hope she/he is a good one for our program.

 

[#2Gopher]

From the way outside looking in, I just didn't have a good feeling about Trachsel. This goes back to two years ago with some behind the scenes news that we all received. Players not being completely happy etc. Part of it though could have been the player's solid relationship with the previous coach and sometimes change is hard.

I hope that Coyles has a plan of sort. Perhaps the one year deal was to get her out. I know some on this board don't like Coyles. We need to trust that he'll find a good coach to come here. I believe he will.

 

[rugger14]

Like I said, I'm not a huge fan. But I think Coyle needs to be asked why he offered the most successful softball coach in program history a mere one year extension on her expiring contract.

I think it is clear that Coyle is not a big Trachsel fan.

 

[Gopher68]

I think it is clear that Coyle is not a big Trachsel fan.

It's interesting that she was his only interview before he hired a coach.

 

[Panthadad2]

From this post, it sounds like Trachsel got the Ole Miss offer, tried to leverage that into a better deal, and got snuffed by Coyle.

On to the next coach. At least it's April.

 

[ClassOf98Gopher]

From this post, it sounds like Trachsel got the Ole Miss offer, tried to leverage that into a better deal, and got snuffed by Coyle.

On to the next coach. At least it's April.

View attachment 7748

Wow! Now that is some great info! Now we know!

I honestly figured Trachsel was less the Ole Miss type than the Gopher type. Still, Coyle may have had his reasons as well. I honestly don’t know what side is right between Coyle and Trachsel, but I assume that a slight majority of the fanatics on this board (I use that word in the positive sense) take Coyle’s side.

 

[MRJ]

Like I said, I'm not a huge fan. But I think Coyle needs to be asked why he offered the most successful softball coach in program history a mere one year extension on her expiring contract.

That's certainly fair and Coyle should absolutely discuss how this unfolded.

With that said, the way Trachsel's family and friends are framing it online, you would've thought Coyle held a gun to her head and forced her to take the Ole Miss job, which on its face is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

In fact, they claim she's "heart-broken."

Yeah, sure.

After all, she was so committed to her "dream job" that she found the time to apply and interview for another P5 job while simultaneously blowing smoke up her players' and the fanbase's butts on social media.

Yep, all that practically screams"dream job" and she's actually the victim here.

Give me a break.

Just admit it was about money and that was more important than the team and the program. I could at least understand that. And at least it would be fully honest.

Instead, she's "heartbroken" while heading to the SEC.

Well, I'm sure she'll somehow recover from this horrid indignity she's suffered.

In the meantime, she's left a bunch of parents (and players) who apparently feel they've been lied to.

Fantastic.

 

[ClassOf98Gopher]

That's certainly fair and Coyle should absolutely discuss how this unfolded.

With that said, the way Trachsel's family and friends are framing it online, you would've thought Coyle held a gun to her head and forced her to take the Ole Miss job, which on its face is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

In fact, they claim she's "heart-broken."

Yeah, sure.

After all, she was so committed to her "dream job" that she found the time to apply and interview for another P5 job while simultaneously blowing smoke up her players' and the fanbase's butts on social media.

Yep, all that practically screams"dream job" and she's actually the victim here.

Give me a break.

Just admit it was about money and that was more important than the team and the program. I could at least understand that. And at least it would be fully honest.

Instead, she's "heartbroken" while heading to the SEC.

Well, I'm sure she'll somehow recover from this horrid indignity she's suffered.

In the meantime, she's left a bunch of parents (and players) who apparently feel they've been lied to.

Fantastic.

Isn’t that how everybody does it? They get an offer from another employer and then check in with their boss to see if that potential employer’s offer can be matched (or if lucky, beaten) by you current employer. I kinda thought that was how everyone did it in the work world. Lesson of workplace life to all the young people out there: we are all free agents.

 

[MRJ]

Isn’t that how everybody does it? They get an offer from another employer and then check in with their boss to see if that potential employer’s offer can be matched (or if lucky, beaten) by you current employer. I kinda thought that was how everyone did it in the work world. Lesson of workplace life to all the young people out there: we are all free agents.

Sure, if you're being honest.

Telling everybody how it's your "dream job" and how "special" everything is about Minnesota, your program and your players while actively seeking another job behind the scenes isn't exactly honest however.

In fact, it comes off as a bit hypocritical and two-faced.

Maybe poor Jamie is the real victim here.

Somehow, I doubt it.

 

[Hrothgar]

Wow! Now that is some great info! Now we know!

I honestly figured Trachsel was less the Ole Miss type than the Gopher type. Still, Coyle may have had his reasons as well. I honestly don’t know what side is right between Coyle and Trachsel, but I assume that a slight majority of the fanatics on this board (I use that word in the positive sense) take Coyle’s side.

"From this post, it sounds like Trachsel got the Ole Miss offer, tried to leverage that into a better deal, and got snuffed by Coyle." Panthadad2.

If this and the previous post by 98gopher are accurate, I can imagine where both sides were coming from. 1) Coyle. The U, like most universities, is having serious financial considerations w/ the Corona shutdown, and the AD has debt service to the Athletes Village project plus some declining attendance in football & basketball. Coyle surely feels that pressure, and then the softball coach comes in & bargains for a raise. Maybe he honestly told her something like, "I like what you're doing, but I don't have the money Mississippi is offering." Maybe he doesn't. 2) Trachsel. If MN truly was "her dream job," she could've swallowed her pride a bit, hung on to the job, and made the dream job into a life mission. Win big in coming seasons, she'd be a real name in her home state, and the money would've come. Regardless of what posters here thought of her coaching, she had the job, it was hers, and her W/L record wasn't shabby. She could've created something big. She chose another path. I wouldn't have, but she's a different generation. My speculation. Any sense in it?

 

[MNsoftballfan]

I think if Allister had taken the Gophers to the WCWS in the second year of her three year initial contract, she would have received a multi year contract extension the day after the season ended. UNTHINKABLE that she would have coached her final year without an extension. Coyle must have wanted Jamie gone. She got the message and did would any reasonable person would do. And for all I know, Coyle made the correct call. But I don't think too many of us, were we in the same shoes, would turn down a 4-5 year contract (don't know the details, just a guess) and accept a one year. No matter how much we loved the school. And I also don't know how true it is that she actively sought the Ole Miss job. Given that coach Katie spent 3 years as an Ole Miss assistant, isn't it possible that the Ole Miss athletic director pursued our coaches?

With that said, I am over it. Let's hire a great coach.

 

[Hrothgar]

I think if Allister had taken the Gophers to the WCWS in the second year of her three year initial contract, she would have received a multi year contract extension the day after the season ended. UNTHINKABLE that she would have coached her final year without an extension. Coyle must have wanted Jamie gone. She got the message and did would any reasonable person would do. And for all I know, Coyle made the correct call. But I don't think too many of us, were we in the same shoes, would turn down a 4-5 year contract (don't know the details, just a guess) and accept a one year. No matter how much we loved the school. And I also don't know how true it is that she actively sought the Ole Miss job. Given that coach Katie spent 3 years as an Ole Miss assistant, isn't it possible that the Ole Miss athletic director pursued our coaches?

With that said, I am over it. Let's hire a great coach.

Allister has all the off-the-diamond social skills and personal visibility that made her a hit in the public eye and, I've heard, with recruits' families, too. Trachsel was never visible to the public, it seemed. She never let the fans know who she was. Even after 3 years of watching her with her teams on the field I wouldn't recognize her in person if we met on the street. On my way to the U, I sometimes walked by Cowles stadium from parking. If the softball team was practicing, Allister, her coaches, or the players would say a casual hello. Once I passed by the stadium under Trachsel. The team seemed to be practicing, but the gates were locked and a student assistant was sent out to ask me what I was doing there and where I was going. Unwelcome was the message. Very anecdotal, but stuff like that's why Allister would've gotten an extension even if she had a losing W/L record.

 

[Gopher68]

For all the talk of financial constraints limiting Coyle's ability to offer more to Jamie, how many coaches can he hire that will accept a one year contract? He will need to offer a multi-year contract. There must be other factors in his decision to offer only a one year extension.

 

[ClassOf98Gopher]

For all the talk of financial constraints limiting Coyle's ability to offer more to Jamie, how many coaches can he hire that will accept a one year contract? He will need to offer a multi-year contract. There must be other factors in his decision to offer only a one year extension.

I slept on it.

What about this theory? Losing Lindaman was the one unforgivable sin that Coyle could not get over. It wasn’t a firing sin. The WCWS, the record GPA, the development of under-recruited players - especially DenHartog but others as well, the hiring of Reitcovich, the stop-loss of an Allister exodus in Summer/Fall 2017, the 2018 Big Ten Tourney championship, the general continued competitiveness of the team were all fine, but the Lindaman transfer was so bad that Coyle would never make a stretch, not any little stretch at all, for Trachsel.

So she asked for a little to compete with another offer and he said “ya better take that other offer.”

I am not adjudicating which one of the two (Coyle v Trachsel) is more right in that scenario. To me it’s close. That Lindaman loss was so terrible. But I am a touch more forgiving than some on that issue because it’s not like she went to Michigan. I mean Florida could not be more different. Anyway, just a theory.

 

[MplsGopher]

I love softball, the best sport in America, even more than Volleyball, which I also watch as much as I can. But volleyball gets 25-30 packed, 5000 attendee games. There is a huge financial difference.

In addition, McCutchen can go down to Texas and tell Jenna Wenaas to come to Minnesota and play against the best volleyball teams in that country. And when we win the Big Ten, we will get the top or at worst second seed in the NCAA tournament, which the Big Ten almost always is entitled to nowadays.

Softball is harder. You can win the Big Ten and not even get a regional host seed... it has happened.

Relatively huge, compared to soccer or softball, sure. Compared to football? They're all peanuts.

Football, and to a lesser extent men's basketball and men's hockey, fund the entire athletic dept. Volleyball still lets students in for free, like the rest of the sports other than the ones I just mentioned.


If the ACC and SEC can just decide to pump a bunch of football money into trying to up-jump their volleyball teams, there is no reason the Big Ten can't do the same with softball. If they have that attitude.

 

[MplsGopher]

Trust me, Minnesota produces plenty of elite volleyball talent. Check out how Minnesota players do in both college and at the national team level. Minnesota is an extremely strong hotbed of volleyball talent anyway you slice it.

As to the rest of it, I don't know that much about finances at it relates to softball. I do know that Jane Sage is one of the best home field advantages in college softball.

After that, I don't really have any insight.

Like I said, my comment was about quantity, not quality. Yes, at the very top level, Minn has produced some very talented players. Some.

But Minn club programs are for the most part not anywhere near the best in the nation. And most of the national team players did not grow up playing club and high school in Minnesota.

 

[MplsGopher]

What is clear to me is that Jamie, despite any and all faults, wound up at a not bad job. The Ole Miss job is not a terrible one for her to complain about... I mean it is not Florida or Texas or Oklahoma, or UCLA, but it ain’t bad.

Is it actually that great of a program?

Their softball stadium doesn't look like anything special.

Shows that their two highest attendance were in the 17xx: https://olemisssports.com/sports/20...facilities-softball-complex-html.aspx?id=1230

 

[ClassOf98Gopher]

Is it actually that great of a program?

Their softball stadium doesn't look like anything special.

From what I learned yesterday, it appears to me that to Trachsel, Ole Miss was less akin to a “trophy spouse” and more akin to a “life-raft”.

 

[MplsGopher]

Be curious to know what her salary was here at the U and what it will be at Mississippi.

 

[MRJ]

Like I said, my comment was about quantity, not quality. Yes, at the very top level, Minn has produced some very talented players. Some.

But Minn club programs are for the most part not anywhere near the best in the nation. And most of the national team players did not grow up playing club and high school in Minnesota.

That's not true either.

Traditionally, Minnesota clubs have been very successful nationally, especially Northern Lights, which is where all of the Minnesota natives on different national team rosters played (Jordan Thompson, Tori Dixon, Sam Seliger-Swenson, Sarah Wilhite-Parsons, Hannah and Paige Tapp all played their club volleyball for Northern Lights).

You can make the argument that there's been a downturn in recent years because that would be accurate.

But to suggest Minnesota clubs have always been worse than others is just flat wrong, especially when the Northern Lights team that featured Wilhite, the Tapp sisters, Seliger-Swenson, Alyssa Goehner and several other top Minnesota players won a national title in club ball.

On top of that, up until recently, Minnesota clubs have been consistently ranked amongst the top clubs at different age brackets.

I'll admit to not keeping up with recent club rankings. But in the later 2000s and early 2010s, Minnesota club teams were all over the national club rankings.