WEBVTT 00:00:05.139 --> 00:00:07.139 I remember sharing your selection committee. Um we had a group of our 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:13.506 coaches in and athletics and I was the assistant athletic structure in 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:17.627 charge of academic and student services and was very fortunate to be able 00:00:17.660 --> 00:00:22.256 to lead the search um when you came to us, it was real apparent the depth 00:00:22.289 --> 00:00:26.936 of your experience and the deep care you had for the sport itself, 00:00:26.969 --> 00:00:31.956 softball, but also the history um was really unparalleled. I mean it was 00:00:31.989 --> 00:00:36.756 such a delight to hear about your commitment and we weren't sure you would 00:00:36.789 --> 00:00:41.637 come, but we're very excited that you accepted the offer um and moved from 00:00:41.670 --> 00:00:46.076 the cold winters of Minnesota to Arizona state. And as I recall when you 00:00:46.109 --> 00:00:49.847 moved here, it started sort of a domino effect because there weren't that 00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:56.207 many head coaches of women's sports um available who were at the top level. 00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:01.626 And so as I recall you came here, the Oregon coach maybe went to 00:01:01.659 --> 00:01:09.046 Minnesota to fill that position and then I think you were assistant. I I 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:13.846 happen to know the Oregon director and this is how so many of the leads 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:17.777 started on who, who was the best candidate out there to hire. I happened 00:01:17.810 --> 00:01:21.676 to play golf with the director of athletics at Oregon and I told him about 00:01:21.709 --> 00:01:25.286 , I believe Tammie Brown 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:29.786 who was here and she took the Oregon jobs. So our hiring of, of linda 00:01:29.819 --> 00:01:34.137 wells as a head softball coach. I believe only the second softball coach 00:01:34.170 --> 00:01:40.316 in NHL history um really transformed softball at four universities. It was 00:01:40.349 --> 00:01:46.576 kind of amazing how how it works. Yes, it was that domino of um yeah, kind 00:01:46.609 --> 00:01:51.777 of merry go round tammy Brown who played here in a great athlete for coach 00:01:51.810 --> 00:01:56.926 Littlewood was going to be my assistant and then went to Oregon and by now 00:01:56.959 --> 00:02:04.959 um there has been the starting gate of the National Fastpitch Coaches 00:02:05.049 --> 00:02:11.126 Association, the Professional Association of Coaches for Softball. It's 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:15.367 true, the vast majority of coaching positions in volleyball, basketball 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:19.906 and softball were filled by women. I coached um those three sports at 00:02:19.939 --> 00:02:27.226 Minnesota until um 1981, I in 78 I gave up basketball in 81, I gave up 00:02:27.259 --> 00:02:31.656 volleyball, so when I came here I was only coaching one sport at Minnesota 00:02:31.689 --> 00:02:38.286 and came here to coach one sport at um Arizona State, I had been by then 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:43.707 the past president of the Coaches association and was very engaged with 00:02:43.740 --> 00:02:51.006 also the International Softball Federation, who is the International MGB. 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:59.039 So the olympic arm then, And that's in 1989 and then I do my 16 years, I 00:03:01.860 --> 00:03:09.860 can I remember to this day coming to the campus and just kind of feeling 00:03:10.500 --> 00:03:17.566 the fit, just kind of knowing. Um and having said that of course I had, I 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:23.506 loved Minnesota, I go back there, great life, friends and All the alumni, 00:03:23.539 --> 00:03:28.666 I'm so appreciative to them and for the opportunity to be there, but it 00:03:28.699 --> 00:03:33.666 was out of the cold and it was also, I had coached there for 18 years and 00:03:33.699 --> 00:03:41.699 I'm now asking myself, am I going to finish my career there, which would 00:03:41.939 --> 00:03:47.886 be probable or am I gonna just give it the old college try and try 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:51.596 somewhere else because I hadn't been somewhere else. Was I going to finish 00:03:51.629 --> 00:03:55.527 my career and wonder what it would have been like to be somewhere else. 00:03:55.560 --> 00:04:02.807 And I fly into phoenix and I meet you in Tempe and 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:09.536 it's just um a beautiful place. The colors are the same maroon and gold, 00:04:09.569 --> 00:04:12.617 you don't have to change my colors, you know, need a little different 00:04:12.650 --> 00:04:16.817 embroidery, but you know, and I'm sure that you knew coach Littlewood 00:04:16.850 --> 00:04:22.306 through the many associations that coaches and the competitions that you 00:04:22.339 --> 00:04:27.937 had over the years. Um the idea of following such a legendary inaugural 00:04:27.970 --> 00:04:32.267 coach, the founding coach of women's softball, who really started when it 00:04:32.300 --> 00:04:40.300 was more of an intramural kind of club sort of sport. Um It must have been 00:04:40.540 --> 00:04:45.366 Incredibly exciting at the time. I mean I am fortunate because I came here 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:50.046 in 1974 in many different roles, but I had the opportunity to know coach 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:54.546 Littlewood along with moral packer, who coached multiple sports, one was 00:04:54.579 --> 00:05:02.457 badminton, um Mona Plummer um and Pittman, the weekly beginnings of 00:05:02.490 --> 00:05:07.406 women's coaching at Arizona state and they too did everything they taught 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:12.426 physical education classes, they supervise student teachers, they coached 00:05:12.459 --> 00:05:17.476 2 to 3 sports. Um they were on all the committees because every committee 00:05:17.509 --> 00:05:22.067 had to have a woman and we didn't go very far because there weren't very 00:05:22.100 --> 00:05:27.137 many of us. Um, everyone was in faculty women's association. Even if you 00:05:27.170 --> 00:05:31.397 weren't a faculty member, it's just the only women's organization that was 00:05:31.430 --> 00:05:36.517 here at Arizona State before university career women started for the staff. 00:05:36.550 --> 00:05:41.647 So I mean, it was a privilege for me to be in the same building and, and 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:46.337 , and many people may not know at Arizona state that the building now 00:05:46.370 --> 00:05:53.447 called PE West used to be called the men's chip and P East was the women's 00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:59.697 gym and uh our athletic department um didn't really even merge until the 00:05:59.730 --> 00:06:04.046 mid seventies. It was the men's athletic department which was athletics 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:07.777 and then women's athletics was in the physical education department. So 00:06:07.810 --> 00:06:11.627 that history is something that, you know, released, it's important to 00:06:11.660 --> 00:06:18.176 capture and you came within about a decade of now. Yes. And so I'm having 00:06:18.209 --> 00:06:21.837 that same experience Minnesota now I come in here and it's upscale. I mean 00:06:21.870 --> 00:06:27.046 , you've just moved into the Carson building. You know, the many of the 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:35.079 facilities have been upgraded and renovated and there's plans for softball 00:06:35.300 --> 00:06:42.176 and um, some of the other sports to really have an opportunity and coach 00:06:42.209 --> 00:06:47.397 Littlewood is, I mean she's already a legend. So the opportunity to come 00:06:47.430 --> 00:06:54.556 in and be a part of this program, especially um you know, I loved my years 00:06:54.589 --> 00:07:00.007 in the big 10, but coming to the pac 10, it's the premier conference for 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:08.040 softball. Mhm. If the weather is so attractive after battling the snowy 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:15.246 spring potential and and really being on the road to be competitive at at 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:21.246 Minnesota and so loved all those times and now I'm ready. You know, here's 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:27.967 the bougainvillea, you know, it's here. So, you know, I think I think it's 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:33.346 fair to say we just we became friends and you know, your boys are teeny 00:07:33.379 --> 00:07:37.926 tiny and it was really just coming along, I think what was Danny was here 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:45.959 and Tommy, yes, and then here comes Joey. And so um yeah, it was just um a 00:07:46.730 --> 00:07:49.060 great place.