“We want to be in the Women’s College World Series.”
New NC State softball head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift has some lofty expectations of the program she is now at the helm of, but she is determined to meet those expectations.
Patrick-Swift spoke with us via phone to answer some questions about taking over the softball program. Here are the best of her responses:
On what she has learned from her prior coaching experience:
Patrick-Swift: As I’ve gone up through the levels, the thing that has changed the most is the information that we have on opponents … and that opponents have on us. … Obviously with the scholarships and things like that, the platform also changes. It’s different going out recruiting now with “NC State” across my chest because now I represent a nationally-known, high-quality product.
That just opens a lot more eyes than any school I’ve been at before. … So I’m excited now that I can be just a little more selective and right now I’m telling recruits that the ACC is the best conference in the country. … What I’ve learned at the end of the day is coaching is just like life. Treat kids the way you want to be treated. … Any time there’s a conversation, good or bad, if that were my daughter out there, how would I want her coach to talk to her? That’s definitely something that I’ve grown a lot with, that not everybody is the same and you have to treat everybody different.
On her strengths as a coach:
P-S: … I try and do my best to recruit good people from good families because I run our program like one big family. People ask me, ‘How many kids do you have?’ and I’ll say, ‘Three at home and 20 at work, so 23,’ and that’s really what makes me different from a lot of coaches and I think that is something that will be especially different at the Power 5 level. … I wake up and go to bed following that motto, treating our kids like that. My big thing is, it’s not only ‘What can you do for me on the field?’; that’s just something that you do, that isn’t who you are. … So I have to constantly remind them that if you have a bad day on the field, that doesn’t define who you are.
I think building that relationship and that trust in the girls that play for me, they enjoy it, they know that I care about them, even if they have a bad day, focus on the bigger picture. … They want to be out there and they want to play for me, they want to play for our program, it’s more about what’s on the front of the jersey than what’s on the back, and I think that culture … that we’re going to bring to NC State is one that makes us different.
On what she feels she has with the returning players:
P-S: I think there’s definitely a lot of talent on the team, but I think that each one of them has yet to tap into their full potential. Hitting is one thing right away that we can improve right away. I know on the mound there were some high points and low points, so I think just bringing consistency there is something that we need to do. … They say they want to win, but do they know what it takes?
Making sure those expectations are clear and set out for them so that expectation of winning is bought into 24/7. I don’t want to come in and be a dictator and say ‘Do this because I’m the head coach.’ I want them to buy in and be a part of it to really be a player-led team. I think the talent part of it is the easy part. I think I’ve been blessed with the ability to raise the standards of the kids I’ve coached. That’s my goal, to get everyone to buy in and to understand what it takes to be able to do that. I think the sky’s the limit for us.
On her short-term goals and what to expect right off the bat:
P-S: My anticipation is that you definitely are going to see the win-loss numbers, the wins go up, the losses go down. … My expectations are to come in and make an immediate impact. … People always ask me, ‘Do you like to win more or do you hate to lose?’ and I hate to lose and I think that is what drives me in my work ethic to not settle, to strive for excellence. Every waking hour is going to be ‘What does this team need to do to get better?’ … The expectation is for us to be at the top of the ACC and to be a Top 25 program and … I’m shooting to year one make immediate improvements and adjustments that happen way sooner than later.
On where she sees the program long-term:
P-S: We want to be in the Women’s College World Series. We have a platform now at NC State where we can do that. … We led the country in home runs; we were top 1- in the country in home runs each of the last three years. … Our goal is going to be to hit 100 home runs every year and to lead the regular season [in home runs] and to win that statistical category at the end of every year. … Now I can get one of the top pitchers in the country so that we can ride that arm to the Women’s College World Series. … So, hands down, we want to be the first team at NC State to make it to the Women’s College World Series and we want to bring it home for Wolfpack fans.
