Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
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BEHIND THE DESK B A R RY A LVA R EZ • UW DIREC TOR OF AT H L ET IC S Softball deserves credit for culture change B efore last week's Big Ten softball tournament, our coach, Yvette Healy, asked me to tape a video message for the players. She wanted me to talk about playing in the postseason. One of the questions was, "How did you get your players to play above their heads?'' You don't. You don't ask them to do that. You ask them to just play well. You don't need any superhuman efforts. You just need your good players to play "good." As a team, you need to play your game. Don't be intimidated. A postseason game is no different than a regular-season game. You just want to play your best. The bottom line is to be focused. In the video, I told them if you've had a fight with your boyfriend, get it squared away. If your parents are coming to the game, make sure they have their tickets and hotel room. If you have finals, make sure you've studied for them and you're prepared. You have to get everything out of the way, so you're not worried about anything. You want your focus on the game. You could see that they did that because they beat some very good teams in Lincoln. They were very impressive in winning the tournament championship. I really liked their aggressiveness. Yvette has done an unbelievable job in three years. Much of it revolves around her positive 22 » VARSITY MAY 16, 2013 attitude and how she has been able to convey that to her kids. Along with her assistants, they've been really creative in some of the things that they've done. They've not been afraid to go to other coaches in other sports and ask questions. I had a coach tell me that Yvette and her staff have changed the whole attitude and dynamic of the fourth floor in Kellner Hall, where a number of our coaches have their offices. That's one of the best compliments anyone could receive. Last week, Ron Dayne was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and the feedback was very good, very positive. People were excited to see his name when the announcement was made. I'm glad to see that Ronnie is back taking classes. I've been hounding him. I just think that it's important that he follows up and gets his degree. He's got the time now, and there are no excuses. I've coached two other Hall of Fame players, Larry Station when I was the linebackers coach at Iowa and Chris Zorich when I was the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame. The Hall of Fame ceremony is still special. I go back every year. There has been some speculation on who might be the next Badger to be inducted. There are a number of players who are deserving. Troy Vincent didn't play on a great team, but he was a great player. He bought into what we were doing when we took over the program and he handled the transition. I've been around a lot of good offensive linemen, but Joe Thomas was the best. He could do it all. He was athletic and a very analytical thinker. He took the proper angles and really played smart. Jamar Fletcher and Jimmy Leonhard were different types of defensive backs. Jimmy was more of a centerfielder for us, while Fletch was a shutdown corner. Both definitely have a chance. When Montee Ball gets done playing, all of his accomplishments will make him a strong candidate. I don't think Ron Dayne will be the last Hall of Fame player from Wisconsin. After this week's Big Ten meetings in Chicago, I'm having surgery; I'm getting a new left knee. I had the right one replaced in '99. I had a partial replacement on the left one seven years ago. And it has just worn out. I have a hard time walking from my office to the weight room. It's like a toothache, 24/7. I have zero cartilage on the outside of the knee, and it's arthritic. I probably could have done a total knee surgery the last time. But I was trying to buy some time, and I was able to do so. But now it's time to get it replaced, so I've just got to do it.