Big news that deserves a separate thread. Coach Tim Walton announced today that Mike Bosch has been terminated as pitching coach of the Gator softball program. About time!
That’s step one and an important one. Step 2 is finding a significant upgrade, otherwise it doesn’t do much. But at least Walton recognized the problem and is trying to address it, a swing and a miss is better than taking three strikes.
Might mean something and might not as I have no clue how long it has been there but "Gator Softball" is following Monica.
Need to look at Coach Thomas' hitting instruction too. Pitching has been less than stellar and I'm glad to see Bosch go, but this team couldn't hit anyone with a decent pitcher all season. Outside of Wallace there has been no one to count on in a jam.
Won't Lauren Haeger be on the short list? She has some coaching experience and she provides a unique perspective to two young kids coming in that both want to be two-way players.
Rehire Jen Rocha…..give her a NIL deal that’s impossible to turn down. Gasso ain’t retiring anytime soon!!
Haeger is currently a pitching/hitting instructor at The Softball Project in Stallings, NC. The business is owned by former Gator Kelsey Bruder. Not sure if she has a vested interest, nor do I know how much she's making, but having her in Gainesville would be a plus for sure. About - The Softball Project
I've thought the same thing, but we hit pretty well this year. I'd rather see us with a better hitting coach and be a team you can count on to get hits. That hasn't been the case for a long time, and I'd like to see us be that kind of team -- the team who is never out of it. Oklahoma is Oklahoma, but I watched them beat both of their biggest rivals in their last at bats this year -- breaking the hearts of both OSU and Texas when they both had 2 or 3-run leads when OU went up to bat for the last time. They got past Canady because in the end they just were able to hit all the way down the roster. Everyone talks about wanting Rocha back -- and I'd love it, too -- but honestly I'd like to get TJ more (and I'm someone who HATES hiring men to coach women). Oklahoma's pitching is amazing, but to me their hitting is the more impressive aspect of their team. Any of them can get a hit at any time.
I wouldn't mind pulling the Stanford pitching coach. Either way I got a feeling this is going to be a notable hire. Definitely an attractive position with the 2 incoming arms. Not real sure what happened with the VT pitching coach and why he left but he would be a good get assuming there was nothing negative around his leaving that program.
It is a good thing that Bosch has gone. It also would be a good thing if we started getting some commitments from the portal. There seem to be quite a few quality girls available. We need more than a handful of players so let's get this show on the road.
Not a good thing when your AD gets involved in sending you on your way....“We felt it was best that he no longer be on the staff,” Tech athletic director Whit Babcock said recently. And my most recent image was him going berserk two years ago when his pitcher kept getting called for illegal pitches. I'm not a fan of that rule (and there are rumors it will be changed) but in that particular instance she was so egregious about it that the illegal pitch simply had to be called. I can see having your player's back but in that situation it was a bad look to act the extreme way he did. I think we best pass on that one.
Rocha is from Oklahoma and from what I understand, accepted the position because she was homesick. She had just been named Associate Head Coach and a bump in her salary the year before she left Florida. As much as I would love for her to come back, I'm afraid I just don't see that happening.
