SOFTBALL ON THE ROAD: Trip reveals how much culture is helping Jax State win big

KENNESAW, Ga. — With college athletes having so much more freedom these days to make money off their sport and transfer without penalty, how do programs based on old-school, traditional values survive?

Jacksonville State softball seems to make it work as well as anyone.

In Julie Boland's first season as head coach last year, the Gamecocks won 37 games — their most in eight years. This year, Jax State already has 32 victories, and there's still about four weeks left of the season.

They're dominating the CUSA regular season this year with 16 wins in 18 league games. With only nine conference games left, they have a three-game lead on second-place Liberty, which was the prohibitive preseason favorite.

Jax State doesn’t have the best softball facilities in the conference or lots of money to bring in the best talent. But only three players have transferred to other programs in the past two years. One of those moved on before Boland was appointed the head coach.

Of the 22 players on the current roster, 18 came straight out of high school, which is the most in CUSA, according to an examination of online rosters. That includes all four seniors: outfielder Morgan Nowakowski, catcher Makalyn Kyser, pitcher Jaliyah Holmes and second baseman Ashley Phillips.

This is hardly new. In the past 30 years, Jax State has won 10 regular-season conference championships and eight more tournament titles, and it's hard to imagine this school getting this much success without such steady roster retention.

So, what's the secret to the Gamecocks’ success?

That's what I set out to discover this past weekend when I traveled with the team for its three-game CUSA series at Kennesaw State. Boland invited me to come along. Her predecessor, Jana McGinnis, did the same three times.

As McGinnis did, Boland didn't place any rules on what I could see or report. When we got to the team hotel, she pointed out the large meeting room they would use heavily for the trip and said, "You have the run of the room."

Trust me, that's something reporters almost never hear from power conference schools in any sport.

So, what did I find? With Jax State softball, it's all about culture — a calm, business-like approach and, of course, some fun mixed in.

Boland wants to provide an atmosphere in which the players and staff feel challenged, even when it might push them outside their comfort zone. She wants to build young women ready to succeed off the field. And — this sounds corny, but it's an important goal — she also wants them to genuinely love the program and each other. She figures if they can do all that, they'll be willing to stick with the Gamecocks through thick and thin and win games while they're at it.

That's the road map McGinnis followed for 31 years as Jax State's head coach, and Boland — who played for McGinnis and then coached for her for about two decades — still uses that game plan.

Boland's staff believes in this mission, too. It helps they all have strong Jax State ties. Stewart and hitting coach Hayley Sims played for the Gamecocks. Assistant coach Garrett Skelton is a former Jax State softball manager.

Pitching coach Olivia Grey isn't a Jax State graduate, but you could count her as an honorary alumnus. She was an all-conference pitcher at Portland State, and her coach was Meadow McWhorter, who was Boland's teammate at Jax State and follows many of McGinnis’ guidelines, too.

I saw examples of this culture throughout the trip, which began with boarding the bus Thursday afternoon and arriving back on campus on Sunday evening. Here are some of the highlights:

Thursday

1:30 p.m.: The bus that will take the team to Kennesaw State is still 15 minutes away, but everyone is either seated or standing outside Jana McGinnis Stadium, munching on chicken sandwiches and nuggets that Holly Stewart, director of player development, has picked up for the group.

They operate on Gamecock Time. If you're on time, you're late. If you're early, you're on time. That's fine with me, because I'm usually good at managing a schedule … for the most part. I did have one hiccup on this trip in that regard, but I'll cover that later.

The food is good. McGinnis told me once that softball players want three things: look good in nice uniforms (Jax State has five different uniform sets); eat well (mundane fast food is rare on road trips); and stay somewhere nice (Kennesaw's Courtyard by Marriott fit the bill.)

Boland hits those three points, too.

5 p.m.: We're pulling into the hotel and will get checked in and settled.

At some point this season, the freshman took over baggage duties, so the players get off first to allow the newcomers to pull out all of the luggage.

Stewart has texted the team itinerary to me. Everything is clearly spelled out, including that at 6 p.m., we will load back onto the bus to head to the Kennesaw State campus, where the team will practice for about two hours.

According to Gamecock Time, I should be ready to board at 5:45 p.m. They even put me near the front of the bus. On the right side of the bus, Boland occupies the front, while Sims is behind her, and I've got the third row. So it isn't like it's that far of a walk.

6 p.m.: My phone rang. It was Boland.

"Hey, Mark, are you coming with us to practice?"

I assured her that I was and planned to come right down. Then I looked at my phone. It read 6 o'clock sharp. That's when the itinerary said we were supposed to pull out of the parking lot.

I lost track of time while answering emails.

After racing downstairs, I scrambled on board the bus at 6:02 p.m. Everyone else was already seated, and the engine was running. I must've looked a bit harried, because all the coaches looked at me as if they were trying not to laugh.

After a weak apology to Boland, I told her I would've totally understood if they had gone ahead without me. I'm pretty sure every other head coach on Jax State's campus would've left me at the hotel.

Boland said it was fine, and they weren't going to leave me.

"It was practice. If we had been going to a game, I might have," she said.

8:05 p.m.: Practice is done, and the Gamecocks probably set a record for the softball team yelling "Beast mode!" the most times. From what I can gather, Stewart is the ring leader for getting this going.

For the players, it's an attitude they want to exhibit, but it also lends a sense of fun, because some are pretty intimidating when they yell it, while others … not quite so much.

After gathering for Boland's closing words, pitcher Brayden Mitchell is talking into a last "Beast mode!" and it's powerful enough that it might make you take a step or two back.

As for practice, the most notable moment came when everyone got a few swings at the plate. Senior catcher Makalyn Kyser hit two so hard that they not only cleared the fence but also the 15-foot netting that protected the tennis courts that sit just beyond left field.

Fortunately, nobody was playing tennis on the particular court that Kyser bombarded.

9 p.m.: Dinner was delivered to the hotel, and we ate in that large meeting room on the first floor. As everyone was finishing, Boland reminded the players about "Thankful Thursday." These few minutes sum up the culture Boland is trying to build as much as anything.

They do this every Thursday. Boland will give a topic, and everyone is asked to say what they're thankful for. For example, the topic might be why you're thankful for a parent, sibling or friend. It might cover school or home.

Boland said she wants the players to focus on something other than softball. Everybody gets a turn, and it can be pretty personal. After all, they're opening up their hearts and letting their teammates and coaches look inside.

When each one speaks, everyone responds by snapping their fingers in support.

On this Thursday, Boland asked the players to say something they do well and are thankful for. Boland wants everyone to know it's OK to recognize something good about yourself.

Every answer is thoughtful and worth hearing, but there's one that seemed so great in its simplicity. It came from pitcher Makenna Moore, and she gave her permission to include it here.

She said she believes she’s kind. She's definitely that, and also, isn't that something we all would love to be? The freshman nailed the assignment.

Friday

9:54 a.m.: The bus is pulling out for campus. I wasn't the first one on board, but I was close to it.

After spending the morning going over the scouting report on Kennesaw State’s pitchers, the team headed to the field for batting practice. There are some old cages behind center field that will serve the purpose.

The Gamecocks typically take a lot of batting practice. Including the Thursday practice, this Friday morning session and a separate session before each of the three games at Kennesaw State, each player probably will see roughly about 150 practice pitches on this trip.

It's all part of the process.

11:45 a.m.: The bus is on fire.

Well, it's just a small rear panel, just above the exhaust pipe, but it was enough that it made for an interesting sight. It looked more serious than it was.

We were all inside a restaurant for lunch when somebody noticed. Stewart called 9-1-1, and she was told that they'd already gotten several calls.

A good samaritan came out of another business with a fire extinguisher, and about three seconds later, the adventure was finished. In the next few hours, the bus driver located some white spray paint, and the panel looked good as new — well, it did if you didn't look too closely.

In the parking lot, our bus driver had moved back to avoid a car that wanted to get by. By moving the bus back, the exhaust pipe came in contact with a bush, and the heat made it catch fire. Then the bush lit the panel on fire.

I texted McGinnis to tell her that it seems weird stuff happens a lot on softball road trips.

She replied, "As hot as our hitters have been this year, Hayley (Sims) must've put their bats in the muffler."

2:45 p.m.: After heading back to the hotel for a little rest, the team is back on the bus to head to campus. The game is set for 5 p.m., and Jax State is expected to win. The Gamecocks are in first place in the CUSA standings, while Kennesaw State is bringing up the rear.

6 p.m.: The most interesting part of the game to me happened in the dugout. When the defense comes off the field, Grey will meet with the pitcher that's currently in the game. In this instance, it's Moore.

No matter how the inning goes, Grey keeps the same calm, encouraging tone when giving instruction.

We saw this in the fall during the exhibition games, but we figured that when the actual games started, her tone might follow the ebb and flow of the action.

It really doesn't. She's rock solid. The tone remains calm whether it's a 1-2-3 inning or if everything falls apart. It's clear the Jax State pitching staff benefits. They've got a 1.88 ERA in CUSA games, which is head and shoulders the best in the league.

Boland is like that, too — for the most part — and she told me later that players need their coaches to be steady. Boland added that McWhorter, Grey's college coach, is steady, too.

Undoubtedly, it's part of the formula that makes players want to stay at Jacksonville State rather than join the hordes that head to the transfer portal.

7:18 p.m.: Right fielder Emma Elrod makes a diving catch to polish off the first game of the series with Jax State winning 6-2. Sims isn't happy that after scoring three runs in the first inning, they managed only three more the rest of the game.

The team will return to the hotel, and dinner will be served in the meeting room.

Saturday

11 a.m.: The hitters are gathered with Sims again in the meeting room. She has a clear goal for the game, which is set for 2 p.m.: score at least one run every inning.

These meetings are much more than Sims standing in front of the room saying, "Let's get some hits!"

In addition to video tape of every pitcher on Kennesaw State's staff, Sims also has graphs and charts that break down the location and speed of every pitch they have thrown.

Boland said that back when she played in the late 1990s, they entered games not knowing anything about an opposing pitcher, unless they happened to see her in the past.

1:48 p.m.: The Gamecocks’ pre-game routine keeps everyone busy, but there are some down moments in which Boland allows the players to have a little fun and work off a bit of nervous energy. At this particular moment, about 10 players are kicking around a hacky sack ball in front of the dugout.

At least, the game lasted until Kennesaw State turned on the sprinklers to wet down the field, and the players got drenched in the crossfire. Everyone laughs.

4:02 p.m.: Holmes strikes out the last batter to close out an 8-0 win. While the Jax State lineup didn't score at all in the first three innings, they made up for it in the next three. They apparently had their "I got it, I got it” moment when all of Sims’ scouting reports began paying off.

Kyser got it started with a two-run home run to left field. It just missed the tennis courts.

The game ended after six innings because of the eight-run mercy rule. If the Gamecocks can end a win early because of the mercy rule, the coaches get them ice cream.

So, instead of heading straight to the hotel, we stopped at an ice cream shop. All I can say is that ice cream is a really strong motivator for a college student, and I would urge every Jax State coach to incorporate an ice cream reward.

Dinner was served back at the hotel in the team meeting room, and Boland told everyone that they could return later to watch Jax State's bowling team in the NCAA championship match.

As many as 15 watched at least some of the match in the room, cheering for the Gamecocks, who won their second NCAA title in three years.

Sunday

8 a.m.: Breakfast is served earlier than usual, because the game is scheduled for noon. The bus is set to depart for the field at 9:45 a.m.

12:02 p.m.: The game started on time, and about two minutes later, the onslaught began. Nowakowski tripled, Reed singled her home, and that gave the Gamecocks a lead they never gave up.

By the end of the third inning, they already led 9-0 and wound up winning 11-3. The game ended after six innings by mercy rule, which meant more ice cream.

After boarding the bus, the team made a quick stop to pick up dinner and ice cream, which they'll eat on the trip home.

3:59 p.m.: The bus is nearly back to the Jax State campus, and the team has passed the time by watching the Oklahoma-Texas softball game on TV. It's a battle of two top-five teams, with the Longhorns winning on a game-ending home run.

The player who hit the game-winner celebrated by throwing her bat down so hard it's a wonder it didn't break. We heard audible groans from the players, who sit in the back of the bus.

With the culture Jax State has built, it's really unlikely you'll ever see any of their players do that.

4:06 p.m. The bus pulls up in front of Jana McGinnis Stadium. The sun is still out, which is a rarity at the end of a softball trip. Usually, if they see the sun, it's because they got back so late that it's rising from the horizon.