This week On Deck we sit down with the first year head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks, Jennifer McFalls. Coach McFalls comes to Lawrence after serving on the coaching staff at the University of Texas since 2010. McFalls helped the Longhorns to the NCAA Postseason in each of her eight seasons in Austin including a berth in the Super Regionals in 2012 and appearance in the Women’s College World Series in 2013. While serving at Texas she also spent her 2015 offseason as head coach of professional softball’s Dallas Charge. McFalls was an All-American standout and Hall of Fame Inductee at Texas A&M. After her time with the Aggies she joined the U.S. National Team and won a Gold Medal in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. McFalls also had coaching stops at her Alma mater Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and stops at Hockaday and Midlothian High Schools. From 2005-2010 she also served on the USA Softball Selection Committee.
Lee Dobbins: Coach McFalls you took over a program at Kansas that hasn’t had a lot of sustained success in the Big 12 and on the national level. What are going to be the keys for you and your staff to change that from an on-field aspect and culturally?
Jennifer McFalls: Our goal is to be more prepared as we enter conference play. With that being said, we will play a tough pre-season schedule that will allow us to face strong pitching and top ranked teams.
Dobbins: Being as familiar as you are with the Big 12 having served on coaching staffs at Oklahoma and Texas; What has it it been like the last six months since taking your first head coaching job and how has that transition been for you? Has familiarity to Big 12 made it easier for you? Or has it been more challenging compared to being at league juggernauts like Texas and Oklahoma?
McFalls: Being familiar with the Big XII is certainly helpful in a lot of ways. First of all, I understand the level of competition we will face, the opposing coaching philosophies, and the tough environments our team will play in. My goal is to prepare us both physically and mentally to face some of the best teams in the country that our in our conference. If we can be competitive enough to finish in the top half of the Big XII, I believe that will give us an opportunity to get to post season play.
Dobbins: Over the last few years recruiting has been a major topic of conversation particularly when it comes to the average (young) age that Prospective Student Athletes are being recruited and making verbal commitments to programs. Legislation has now been initiated restricting contact/offers to PSAs until the start of their junior years in high school. Talk a bit about that change in the recruiting dynamic since that legislation has been adopted. Has it slowed the process and made balancing recruiting better? Has the legislation been effective in curving earlier recruiting in any way?
McFalls: I am personally in favor of the rule changes for recruiting. It will allow coaches to make better decisions on a student-athlete based on their physical talent and academic status. I definitely think the new rules will help slow down the recruiting process for sure and take away a lot of third party involvement. There was so much pressure on kids to commit as 8th and 9th graders and they truly have not even had time to develop into great players. Coaches were projecting their talent level simply based on athleticism and size. Athletes need to learn the game of softball, not just play. I think the early recruiting rules will help athletes focus on developing more, specifically in position play, knowledge of the game, and making long term commitments to programs.
Dobbins: I recently heard a phrase directly referenced to collegiate softball; “The era of the free agent has begun.” This seemingly is referencing the latest NCAA Transfer Legislation that eliminates the permission-to-contact process. The transfer rates in the last five years had seemingly already been at an all-time high. Recently however, it seems the flood gates have opened directly connected with this legislation. What are your thoughts on this legislation and its effect on the collegiate game?
McFalls: I hate the fact that athletes have the freedom to up and leave a program just because they are unhappy with playing time, coaching decisions, or simply not getting their way. Whatever happened to the word COMMITMENT? It is way too easy for players to quit or transfer just because things get hard. Leaving programs midyear is absolutely unacceptable in my opinion. It puts coaches and programs in a really difficult position as they are trying to prepare for the upcoming season. I believe that the way the rules are currently, it opens the door for a number of unethical conversations and tampering that effects athletes transferring. I am hopeful that the NCAA will put an end to mid-year transfers.
Dobbins: Softball (Collegiate Game particularly) has boomed in popularity in the last 10 years and this seems to be based on its visibility on different media outlets (TV, online, Social Media, etc.). How has that dynamic of visibility has changed the way the game is played and how you run your program? What is the next progression of promotion of the game/advancement would you like to see as a Head Coach?
McFalls: I think that it is amazing that we can see the game of softball as much as we can on TV and multiple social media outlets. I think it has impacted so many young players and their interest and love for the game. In addition, it is incredible that family and friends can follow games on social media even when they are not televised. I do believe it has impacted programs and media relations to promote teams any way possible on the social media platform. I think that it becomes ridiculously competitive at times between programs to solicit their teams, but definitely a positive avenue to continue to promote our sport and the amazing athletes that we have playing our game. In addition, it has opened several doors for former players to pursue their career in commentating and promoting our sport. It is awesome to see women promoting women and creating new career avenues for female athletes because of the success of fastpitch softball.