Coaches Hot Box with Softball Coach John Gallagher

Resporter: The first District game is history, what other history lessons would you like to accomplish this season?

Coach John Gallagher, “Complete the season by going to the playoffs, end the season on a winning record, win our district, having the girls see and feel a sense of accomplishment for all their hard work put into the season.”

Resporter: Looking at the other District 26-3A games, the one constant that they all seem to have is errors. How do you get that part of the game to advance?

Coach Gallagher, “Hard work at each position and getting a lot of reps. We only have three girls that played the same position in the infield as last year, pitcher, catcher, and the short stop. Two in the outfield, leftfield and centerfield, continuity is key as we go forward along with confidence in fielding their positions.”

Resporter: How do you approach each team in district play? Do you change your preparation based on the last game or do you try to keep all facets of the game in the same routine?

Coach Gallagher, “I prepare for each team separate based on our knowledge of the opponents strengths and weaknesses. We try to exploit a weakness (ie. catcher with weak arm, slow outfielders etc). Secondly, we will try to improve on the things we did well first and then work on the things we didn’t do very well in our last game. We spend a lot more time on hitting and base running than in the past to keep us in a more consistent game mode and we use defensive practices to work on situations that we encounter during games.”

Resporter: What is the one part of the game that you have seen the most improvement from this squad?

Coach Gallagher, “Offensive mentality. We work hard on what to do and when to do it, whether it’s the bunt, hit, steal, tag up etc.
Pitching also has improved, hitting spots and keeping hitters off balance. We are not giving up the big hits we had last year.”

Resporter: Thanks Coach! Now go get’em!