Michigan State head coach Jacquie Joseph is the Spartans' all-time winningest coach and in her 20 years at the helm of the Big Ten program has won Big Ten tournament titles, made four NCAA Regionals, produced six All-Americans and nearly four dozen All-Conference players.

In her tenure, her teams have won 30 or more games in a season a dozen times--three times surpassing 40 wins--but the coach would be the first to say her teams have struggled the last few years, including the 2013 squad which went 24-25 overall and finished seventh in the Big Ten.

We thought it would be interesting to hear her thoughts on moving forward and how you approach turning a program around, especially in a conference as competitive as the Big Ten.  It can't be easy trying to overtake schools like Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska and others.

However, you talk to the coach and she's enthusiastic, passionate about her sport and fired up to get it going next spring. 

Here's our interview done just last night…



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StudentSportsSoftball.com:  Coach, we hear you're having a great recruiting class for 2014 and we've seen you and your staff all over the country this summer… it seems you're pushing harder than ever.
Jacquie Joseph: Yes, I'm really so rejuvenated, I'm just really excited with what I'm doing.  I think a lot of it has to do with us getting a stadium and always hoping for the one day it'd pan out.  This will be a difference maker for us, it sits on a river and it's second to none in how gorgeous it is.

SSS.com: Can something like a new stadium turn a program around?
JJ:  Definitely, you're always looking for something to sell.  When I first got here we went from nothing to making the Regional finals and then everyone else went 'boom.'  The SEC added softball, it became big in the South and we languished and everyone went by us.

Now, with the stadium, we've attracted some really good kids and you can build momentum.  You get a few top players and everyone wants to play with them.  Suddenly, you have great talent and are winning.

Look, I just want us to get back to where we're relevant, but it's not easy.  When I started they didn't even play softball in many areas of the country, but now it's going to continue to grow and you need to have competitive advantages.  The stadium is just one more thing that makes us attractive.



SSS.com: So that's one key selling point… what else is helping you recruit to Michigan State?
JJ:  Our conference is a huge attraction, it's great to be able to present to athletes how the Big Ten marries academics and athletics.  Our conference has always been ahead of the first; we were the first to have gender equality, for example.  When Michigan won the National Championship in 2005 it changed the sport.  I really have a strong respect for what the Big Ten stands for.

We had six teams with an RPI under 50 this year.  We have made huge strides in our conference in RPI--we're three or four behind the Pac-12 and SEC and we have top 100 academic schools.  The best softball conference, it's the Pac-12.  The best academic conference… Ivy League.  But you marry the two, academics and athletics, it's the Big Ten.

I'm just extremely proud of what we do in this conference and what we stand for.  I've enjoyed every minute of what will be my 21^st year at Michigan State.

 

SSS.com: You've seen the highs and lows of winning as a coach in your two decades plus at Michigan State.  How do you get back to where you want to be?
JJ: You just have to get better players, it's all about recruiting.  And it starts in the circle.  Last year we significantly improved our pitching adding Valerie Kaff, who was the Gatorade State Player of the Year out of Arizona. She's a freshman here now. Our sport is still a pitcher-dominated game and I feel we have great players coming in and who we got last year.

The No. 1 way you turn it around is recruit better players.  We've always done the other things--our players have a great experience.  Do you know that we've only had one player transfer in 21 years?  With the stadium, I feel that turn-around is happening.  Now I feel like I have the tools to get it done.

SSS.com: When a team struggles, how do you keep the athlete going in a positive direct and being motivated?
JJ: That's a great question, I'm not always sure about the how or why.  I focus on if they are having a great experience every day.  I want them to enjoy the process, to enjoy each other.  I've always had the philosophy of not beating up the kids.  I feel that if they've played the best they can play and the other team has better players, then it's not our players' fault.

If my kid throws 58 and doesn't have great movement on the pitch and we lose 4-3, I'm like, 'Great, you got the best out of what you can do.'  Did we get the best out of it we could?  You can't take a plow horse to the Kentucky Derby!  I've always felt our players give the best they can and we celebrate that. I think they still buy in, in the early years they bought in and I believe we've proven we can win.

 

SSS.com: Walk us through your approach to a recruit and how you sell the Spartans to her…
JJ: We can say to her, 'You can be that kid who comes in here and makes a difference, you can be the one.  You put Michigan State on the map.'  You can't be the next Keilani Ricketts at Oklahoma or be the next Jordan Taylor at Michigan, they've already done.

The first thing I try to sell is the character of the head coach.  That's hugely important, much more than something like weather. If it's sunny and the coach is an idiot, then you're going to be miserable.

First, find someone that cares about you, it's about character and that will be critical to you as an athlete having a positive college experience.

Second, I say you're going to get a world-class education.  I sell what we're about and ultimately it's their decision.

Really, it's a numbers decision.  If I get enough good kids in my pool, we will get some great players who will help us win.  We have over 200 majors and you get to pick all but two--you can't be a nursing student and athletic trainer as an undergrad--but I can sell--and get enough who are interested in--the experience of athletics and academics we offer.

There's more than life than weather.  I say if you can find a high character coach, a good education and warm weather then go.  Shoot, I'd go.  There aren't that many that are better so I don't lose sleep over it!

The Pac-12 conference is great but it's not the only place to be.  You know, Alabama won a National Championship without a single kid from Calif.  There are good kids everywhere--you just have to make sure they fit your program and if they're happy they'll win.



SSS.com: What's one thing you'd change about the college game if you could?
JJ: The timing of when we play. I'd like to see us play in June and get us out of February.  February's a joke, it's not spring anywhere.  It's freezing in Alabama in February, it's freezing in North Carolina in February.  Good Lord.

I'd like to see it get moved back.  Baseball has three more weeks; they play into July.

There's no reason to play before March 1.  It's only spring in three areas of the country: Southern California, Southern Florida, and Arizona.  That's the only three locations where it's remotely spring and I'm worried about the money people spend in that month.

I also think 56 games to play is too many.  Compression is not good, playing on a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday in a week is not good.  That's too much playing in too short of a time and I worry about injuries.

SSS.com: Being a coach and developer of softball players and young people, you must obviously be discouraged about the Olympic situation…
JJ: I'm sad for the sport in that the whole thing was a set up.  It's like they dropped a sport to say they added a sport, it was ridiculous.  They didn't solve their gender issues, it didn't add a lot.

I think the sport is worthy of a world-wide audience and it will continue to grow internationally.  I don't know anyone in the sport who will give up on the dream, but world politics has to change.  I hope Japan can add it as they have a damn good team-- they can really play--but regardless, I think there are a lot of people who will keep the sport strong and growing.



SSS.com: Do you think this will make it harder in the long term to get young girls interested in playing softball if there are no Olympics to shoot for?
JJ:  No, I don't think so.  The mission of the collegiate opportunity is different--would I like players to have the Olympic opportunity?  Absolutely, but it doesn't change the day-to-day job we have to promote education combined with a quality athletic experience so these young women can go out and become successful CEOs or wives and mothers.

Our job as coaches and educators is ultimately to deliver a grown-up. We take a young gal and train her and hopefully she has the best four or five years of her life.  Hopefully, she gets a degree, starts her life, starts a company or family and looks back as that as the best time of her life.



-- Brentt Eads (brentt@studentsports.com); twitter: @SS_softball