Texas A&M softball's Trisha Ford ready for Year 2 in Aggieland

Trisha Ford will begin her second year at Texas A&M this Friday with the Aggie Classic at Davis Diamond. The head softball coach joined Monday's edition of TexAgs Radio to discuss her ballclub, new additions to the roster and this weekend’s Aggie Classic.

Key notes from Trisha Ford interview

• In year two, you are more comfortable in your skin, and you know what to expect, but it is also harder. Year one is the honeymoon and then year two is reality. We're gonna push you past your comfort zone. They have responded really well, but I do think that year two is harder in retrospect. 
   
• We’re more athletic. We have more sass, more edge and more fight. Those things are very important, especially in the bat and ball sports with the long innings, extra innings and three-game series. 
   
• Jazmine Hill is super dynamic. She’s in center field and will bat in the middle of the lineup. She has decent speed. She brings the IT factor and competitiveness. She knows what it's like to play at a high level. She won a Pac-12 championship.
   
• At the beginning, Hill ruffled feathers, but the girls got used to her. That’s just Jaz being Jaz. She’s a fun kid to be around, and I'm excited that we get to have her for a year. 
   
• Julia Cottrill and Hill being named to the Softball America Top 100 Player List is a huge honor. They deserve it.
   
• The one I'm putting a chip on her shoulder is Koko Wooley. She is one of the most dynamic and athletic kids I’ve ever coached. I said, “Here Koko. Here’s your chance. Let's show them who you really are.” Julia, Jazmine, and Kennedy Powell, along with solid pitching, it's gonna be a good year.
   
• Cottrill has had a lot of growth. She’s had a couple of stops here and there but has always been a part of very successful programs. She grew up playing for USA Softball and was the youngest one to ever play on the junior team. She brings a lot of experience and competitiveness and the mental aspect of figuring out how to get it done.
   
• When you continue to put more and more of those pieces together, a Powell, a Hill, a Julia Cottrill, it starts to infiltrate into other people in your program, to the freshman and sophomores. It just elevates your program. 
   
• Overall athleticism was our biggest focus from last year. We are a lot more athletic than last year on paper. Our outfield was something we hit pretty hard. Then we have depth, and I think that is the final piece we are concentrating on. I think we are always going to chase pitching, that is the name of the game. So athleticism, outfield and then real depth.
   
• We have players pushing each other, and our lineup is not going to stay the same for the whole year. We are going to see who rises to the top. 
   
• Getting players to understand that it will be their turn someday and that competition raises everybody’s game is hard. A lot because of the transfer portal. You have to have those honest conversations, and as a coach, you have to establish good relationships with your players and talk them through it. Say, “Here is where I think you are. You’re going to get your opportunity.”
   
• Sometimes it's a matchup. You do better against a down-ball pitcher or a left-handed pitcher. I had a player at Fresno State when I coached my first year. She was only a pinch hitter her first year. She wasn’t happy with it, and I told her that I was okay with her not being happy with it. She became an All-American at the end of her career. Her name was Morgan Hale. She stayed the course and had the parents that stayed the course. There were probably many times she was frustrated, but it's about what you are going to do with that frustration.
   
• Valpo has a lot of new players, and Lehigh and Tulsa were regulars in the postseason. Just a lot of experience coming out. For u, it's focusing on what we can do. Can we control the free base game and get the big hit when you need to get the big hit.