Most coaches look to their senior players to be the leaders of their team. Softball head coach Jay Miller takes that concept one step further.
Miller has started a tradition of letting the squad’s seniors select the team’s non-conference tournaments.
This weekend the Bulldogs will participate in the San Diego State Aztec Invitational in San Diego, Calif., because that’s where the senior class wanted to play.
“It’s kind of a new thing,” says Blair Brown, the team’s only California-born player. “Coach Miller holds his seniors in high regard. We have senior-only meetings every week to discuss the team. When he asked us to pick the tournaments, most of us just wanted to go home. Most of the other seniors are from Texas, so we picked the tournament in Houston, and then this one for me.”
Miller says he thinks it’s important for the seniors to pick where they play.
“They pick the area of the country that they want to go to,” Miller said of his senior scheduling system, “and then we try to find a tournament to play in for that area.”
Brown, who attended high school only two hours from San Diego, is excited about the opportunity to play close to home again.
“It’s like my niche. Getting to play in a familiar place and seeing my family and friends-it will be a real treat. I just hope we show up ready to play and don’t treat this as just a trip.”
The Bulldogs will play considerable talent in the tournament, highlighted by the 21st ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys.
The Lady Bulldogs will also play undefeated UC-Santa Barbara and the host team San Diego State.
“Oklahoma State is obviously a strong team,” Miller said. “One of the top 20 or so teams in the nation. And the others are both quality teams that will present us with some good tests. This will definitely be a stronger competition level than last weekend, probably our strongest competition until we start SEC play.”
Brown said the seniors and the team are ready for the challenge.
“This tournament should be a real challenge for us. It’ll be a foreshadowing of what to expect when we get to our SEC schedule. But we’re ready for this test. We’re really playing well, even the newcomers. We’re looking forward to playing against tougher teams.”