Re: Softball, Cagle, Coaching

First off, Val is an incredible player and - as far as I know, have seen or heard - a great person.

Second, I think we have a really great group of young ladies on this team who CAN beat anybody.

Third, Rittman is obviously a great coach.

So - putting all of that together - I've commented on this before, but I think he leans way too heavily on Val. I don't know how vocal he is about her with the team (i.e. "Great news, Val is back this weekend!") or anything that may make the team feel lesser to her or dependent on her or whatever, but something seems amiss. They played so well without her against UNC. Pitching, fielding, hitting - everything was top notch. As though they had something to prove, or that a burden had been lifted or something. I have no idea. If they play great w/o her, they should play even better with her, but that doesn't seem to necessarily be the case right now for some reason.

I do think that he leans to heavily on Val and that may put too much pressure on her. I think she already puts a lot on herself, but it's different than someone else putting pressure on you. In retrospect - which is always 20/20 - she shouldn't have pitched in Game 1. I don't know what pct healthy she was, but it sure didn't seem 100%.

Regan is definitely our #1 pitcher right now and should be treated as such. #2 seems like a toss-up between Val and Millie at this point.

I know the team is frustrated, knowing their potential but seeing them fall short. I don't know what the answer is (or I'd be coaching softball!). But seems to be more of a mindgame coaching thing than anything else.

I just hope Rittman & Co can get it figured out and get these ladies playing to their full potential. There's still time and some big games left to prove it (like Duke - gotta win that series!).

Go Tigers!

Clemgalalways®

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Mar 25, 2024, 1:56 PM

This will be an unpopular post. I've had my share. Rittman is a really good coach. I wouldn't go so far as to say he's outstanding. To me, outstanding and legendary are held for coaches like Dabo or Noonan, and hopefully a couple recent hires.

There's some good posts on this thread that have a lot of truth to them. We couldn't have hired a better coach to get the program up and running. That's Rittman's expertise.

But, imo, and others, he lost a lot of equity that was built in the first couple of seasons and he didn't cash in... or strike when the iron was hot so to speak. I do think he's probably loyal to a fault. He was grateful to players who trusted him and came to play for us.

He's recruited ok. Valerie kind of fell into his lap. He's even stated as much. She's a huge reason this program shot out like a rocket. But a good many of our players (recruits) came to Clemson because they grew up Tiger fans. There was pent-up demand for us to get a softball program. Not to say he hasn't brought in some good recruits. He's brought in some good transfers too. Not super transfers that, with the equity, he should have been able to pull in.

There's definitely truth to the lack of development. Johnson, who transferred to east Carolina is a good example. She did pretty good as a frosh but got hurt. Came back last year and barely got any pt or abs. Why? There were plenty of games we could have played her, ruskowski (sorry if I butchered your name), Knowles etc that only got spare pinch hitting. Completely opposite approach that Dabo and Bakich take. We should have had recruits take some spots from the seniors on our team... or who were ready to take the transfers spots.

So, question has to be why haven't we? Definitely room to question the coaches. As to the hitting woes we've had this year, they've been there the last couple of years. But the difference is Val stepping up and hitting a dinger, or keeping the other teams from scoring. We haven't had a threat behind Valarie since Guimbardo. Sorry Marissa, I probably misspelled your name too. There's truth to lockeroom friction as many have noticed the body language.

So, no, Rittman can't get up and hit with risp, or catch the grounder. But errors are as old as dirt. No one suggests he should be replaced. That'd turn into a worse situation than Leggett. Personally, I think it'd be wonderful if Rittman was bumped into an administrative job and work with Neff in bringing in the best softball coaches available. Maybe the long time Oklahoma assistant that can recruit. Idk.

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Softball, Cagle, Coaching