• last year
Oklahoma stars Jayda Coleman and Alyssa Brito speak to the press on Feb. 5, 2024.
Transcript
00:00 I don't really have expectations. I'm not saying we need to win a national championship or we need to win a certain amount of games.
00:10 I feel like for me the expectation is that we just continue to play above the standard and play Oklahoma softball.
00:17 For me I just want to have a joyful season and I feel like we don't really need to change anything that we're doing.
00:24 Just continue to teach to the younger group and let them know that knowledge that we know and just pass it down.
00:34 I think same for me, senior year just going out with a bang.
00:39 I think every year we have that culture and that standard like she said and it's just showing up every day.
00:45 The chip on our shoulder and I think we can't get complacent and just expect the wins to come to us. It's constantly grinding and working harder than everything else.
00:55 Is it hard not to get complacent or stay on top of that and make sure that doesn't happen when you have the success that you all have had?
01:06 No, I don't think it's difficult because in the end the accolades and the trophies, they're temporary.
01:12 I think for a lot of us our purpose is not just to win, it's to glorify the Lord.
01:17 I think when you focus on the outcomes in the end, when it's already written, that's when you can get out and play beside yourself.
01:24 We just have a team collective idea that it's already written, we don't need to press and be anything we're not.
01:31 We get complacent or have anything jumping ahead, we just know exactly what the Lord has in store for us.
01:38 Ryan and then Jane.
01:42 On the field, Coach just talked about Tiara playing a lot of short beside you.
01:47 What's that been like as far as learning each other's voices, being next to each other as opposed to around the corner there at second?
01:54 I played third next to her in travel ball. We were on the OC Bat Vistas together.
02:00 It's kind of just going back to the olden days. We already have a really good feel together.
02:05 She constantly talks to me and we're on the same page at all times.
02:09 It's been really fun again just to be right next to her.
02:12 Defense is really fun for both of us. Just communicating a lot.
02:17 I think just us experiencing so many years playing together, we've just got it down.
02:23 I know you're both veterans, but you are part of the group of five that have been here from the beginning, starting your last role through.
02:32 Have you had a chance to enjoy this process with not just the whole team, but those five as well as preparing?
02:40 Are you able to balance that coming to New York last year?
02:43 I feel like the core five, and it's so crazy that Brita wasn't there for the first one because I feel like she's been here for so long.
02:50 I feel like we just truly find joy in the grind, like the complacency thing.
02:55 It is truly fun to grind throughout the fall and even during this time.
03:01 When you get in the World Series, you feel so confident because you know that there's no one that has worked harder than you.
03:07 Just the joy that this group has, and like she was saying, we live for the Lord.
03:12 When we just know that it's already written, we can just go out there and have a blast.
03:17 I feel like that's where we find the joy, our core five.
03:20 I'm adding Brita to that. Six. Six.
03:24 To both of you, I know obviously with your talent, it will be sort of the off-field and the chemistry of the doctor really determines how good you guys are this year.
03:34 One of the things I think has been interesting to hear Patty talk about, like having individual meetings with you guys, whether it's coffee or breakfast or whatever.
03:41 What are those sorts of interactions? What do you take from those?
03:44 What do you hope she takes from those? How did those, the fact that your head coach has taken the time to do that, just the impact you feel like that has on the team?
03:53 I think it just kind of goes to show how she's personable.
03:57 She knows we have lives outside of softball, and they can get difficult at times.
04:03 If we can be real with her in coffee situations, breakfast, whatnot, I think that kind of creates that chemistry and relationship within a coach and a player to where if we're struggling and we don't have it that day, we can go up to her and be like, "Hey, coach. It's a rough one today.
04:19 This is all I got, but I'm letting you know this is where I'm at."
04:22 That's just that vulnerability.
04:24 For her, too, she can come into our space and being like, "We're human, too. We don't have it today, but we're going to give everything we have as coaches."
04:32 It's just that understanding that I think it creates.
04:35 I think it's important to know that Coach Gasso is a person.
04:40 You kind of go through this recruiting process as like, "Oh, my gosh. That's Coach Gasso. I can't do this or I can't do that."
04:46 Coach has done really well with having those sit-down conversations.
04:49 We talked about my boyfriends, and Coach is actually one of the first people I texted when I got engaged.
04:54 I was like, "Hey, coach. I got engaged!"
04:57 Her having those personal conversations, knowing that I can feel comfortable with her with my personal side of things.
05:05 Even for the freshman to see, I can go to Coach and talk to her as not just Coach Gasso, but as a mom, kind of.
05:14 You've got to know when and where, but I can always call Coach on the side and have that personal conversation with her.
05:20 I think it's important for the freshman to know that, too.
05:22 That, okay, Coach is human. She's a normal coach. You can go up there and talk to her.
05:28 I think that personal side changes everything.
05:32 Were either of you surprised?
05:34 Like you say, you get recruited, and she's this coach of the national champions and all that stuff.
05:39 When she said, "Hey, yeah. We're going to go. I'm going to treat you to breakfast or I'm going to take you to coffee,"
05:43 was there any sort of like, "Wait, what?"
05:45 Was there any surprise in either of you to have that one-on-one time with her?
05:51 Not really, because during the recruiting process, she makes it feel such like home.
05:56 We get to see her around her grandkids and her son.
06:00 We get to see that family orientation.
06:03 Even during the recruiting process, we would go eat breakfast. Our parents would be there.
06:09 It wasn't because she wasn't doing it before, but I feel like I was just more nervous the first time to actually sit down
06:14 and be in front of Coach Gasso and actually have to speak.
06:17 She's been doing that since I was in the eighth grade.
06:21 James, over here.
06:23 I saw the video that you guys worked out in the weight room.
06:26 I know it was based around Kinsey, but I've seen the results with you guys.
06:30 I mean, it's noticeable, the power, how you improve.
06:33 Could you talk about the offseason or just the workouts that you guys do and how it really helps you guys?
06:40 Yeah, I think the lifting side and just becoming more agile every year is really what I've seen
06:46 in improving myself.
06:48 I think definitely coming in from Oregon, I wouldn't say that I was as strong after my sophomore year
06:55 when I built that foundation.
06:58 I mean, weightlifting, it's something you do every morning and you're like, "Oh, it's just routine."
07:04 But you really do see the results, and you see us not getting tired in June.
07:09 We're still powerful, hitting the ball over the fence, hitting everything and being strong
07:14 and being able to use our bodies effectively.
07:17 So I think it shows throughout the season and in the end especially, and that's why they really harp on us
07:23 getting our lifting times in, even throughout the season, especially throughout the fall, building that.
07:29 Yeah, for me, I mean, I've said this probably multiple times, but Day and Sommer was our shrink coach
07:35 during the time, and I came in as a freshman, like this little 120-pound little twig,
07:41 and I was like, "I want to hit the ball like Jocelyn Tiare," so I knew I was going to have to get in the weight room,
07:47 get right in with nutrition.
07:50 But I think it's so important. I don't think a lot of people know that, but your shrink coach
07:53 and that relationship with him is so important.
07:56 I trusted Dayne with everything that I was doing, and he gave me plans that I could take over the summer,
08:01 over Christmas break, and I mean, you can tell last year I hit double or whatever, a lot more home runs
08:09 than I did the previous year, so just trusting your shrink coach and having that relationship,
08:13 and then also with the nutrition side, making sure that you're eating right is very important.
08:18 You guys are going to play some really good competition this weekend.
08:22 I think four teams have been in the tournament, at least three did.
08:25 Do you guys even think about that yet, or is it just a game?
08:29 I know you guys played a good pregame, but do you worry about competition going into Sunday weekend?
08:36 No, I think it only makes us better, and I think excellence craves excellence,
08:42 and I think when people give us their best, it only makes us better.
08:47 So I don't think we take it as anything to watch out for.
08:52 It's more of just a growing moment for both teams, honestly, and playing someone really competitive
08:58 early on in the year really gives you an idea of where you're at, both sides of the ball.
09:03 So I think those games are really important, like you saw it last year, like facing those top five,
09:08 power fives, it made all the difference for us to see where we were and then grow from that point on.
09:14 But we're excited because those are just really great teams we'll coach.
09:18 Just a couple more, Eric, follow-up maybe.
09:21 I want to ask you guys, Coach Gasso said matriarch in the pitching staff is Nicole.
09:26 Can you talk a little bit about her competitiveness and just how she's grown
09:30 and whatever role you guys need her to do, she does.
09:33 Yeah, I feel like Nicole is one of the most consistent pitchers I've seen around.
09:38 I feel like she's low-key underrated from just the hard work that I see,
09:42 and she's always getting out of jams, she's always being so clutch.
09:45 But I just really like how calm and collected she is.
09:48 So when she does get that big out and she pumps us up,
09:52 like someone that normally doesn't get fired up, seeing them fired up makes you fired up.
09:56 So I think she's going to be really good for us this year.
10:00 I want to ask you also, I asked Coach Gasso about this, how does she challenge you guys?
10:03 I know she always has her little competitive games.
10:05 You guys have had success the last three years.
10:07 What's it been like going into this season in terms of the way she's challenging
10:10 and going into this year?
10:12 Yeah, all the pitchers.
10:13 I get really, really frustrated with our pitchers.
10:16 They're not one-dimensional.
10:17 So I could have a game plan and they have two other game plans off of that.
10:21 But going against that, like iron sharpens iron, you know.
10:25 Going against them, it's a mind game sometimes, which is kind of good
10:29 that we're always constantly on our toes, always going against the best of the best.
10:32 But, yeah, I really get frustrated with Nicole May and her changeup very often.
10:38 She's great because she can just go and spot to any part of the zone.
10:42 And when you have pitchers like that that can do both
10:45 and you have someone like Coach Rocha behind them absolutely just analyzing hitters
10:50 and to the max just putting in all the work behind the scenes,
10:53 she does a really great job with them and allows them to use their confidence
10:57 to their ability.
10:58 And you see them go up there and they're just very confident in what they're doing.
11:01 They're sure of themselves.
11:02 And they know they can trust us as well.
11:04 So it's been really cool to watch, and it also is very frustrating.
11:08 In the fall, I think we're all ready to face other pitchers because they're just so good.
11:15 There's the ways that Coach Gaskin challenges you guys on the field
11:18 and gets you ready.
11:19 But I also know, talking to a former player,
11:21 she's got a lot of creative ways of motivating movies and books.
11:25 How many experienced players have been here?
11:28 How have you seen her use certain tools like that
11:30 or perhaps some memorable ones that she has to get her messages across?
11:37 Honestly, my favorite is watching OU play in the past,
11:41 like watching Lauren Chamberlain in this play.
11:45 When you get here, you know that there's a legacy that's already begun,
11:48 and you want to continue that legacy
11:50 and you want to continue the dominance and the standard.
11:53 So when we get to watch film or even practices from the 2012 team
11:59 or the national championship teams, getting to watch them in the College World Series
12:03 and just to see how feisty and scrappy they are is very motivational to me
12:08 because I'm like, "We got to fill those shoes every year."
12:12 That's just something that I strive for.
12:14 I want to continue to pass the baton down and just continue that legacy.
12:20 I would agree with everything she said.
12:22 You have so many greats that have come out of this program,
12:25 so it's really cool to kind of get to watch them when we were younger
12:28 and then now stepping into that stage.
12:31 But like she said, it just motivates
12:33 because you've seen the championship mindset from the beginning,
12:36 and it's just kind of bled into us and how we kind of handle ourselves.
12:41 She does a great job of creating atmospheres for us all,
12:45 knowing the culture and what that standard is,
12:47 and she does a good job of it each year.
12:51 Back to her.
12:52 I want to kind of follow up with a question about challenging Patty.
12:55 Patty talked about how she wants to take ground balls by you.
12:57 She doesn't want you to make a play.
12:59 She's challenging you.
13:00 Is that something you've seen when you first got to campus,
13:02 and how has it evolved as you got to be older players?
13:05 Are the games just that she's challenging and things like that,
13:08 they become even more tougher?
13:10 Or is it just her trying to really push you guys to the limit?
13:12 It's actually really fun, especially defense.
13:15 I love making diving plays,
13:17 and I feel like she's always trying to just barely even bloop it in front of me
13:21 or even JT hitting it to the wall.
13:24 I think it makes the game more fun when you know you're trying to chase something,
13:28 you're trying to make a diving play,
13:29 and when you see someone make a diving play, it just gets you pumped up.
13:33 When I see Breida make a backhanded double play off one leg, I'm like, "Yes!"
13:38 It just gets everyone pumped up, and again, it just shows you the standard.
13:43 You're going full out 100% every single play.
13:47 I think she's challenged us too as older veterans, I guess we should say,
13:52 as being coaches of ourselves and reflecting that to the younger ones
13:56 and really just maybe taking those moments to stop and explain things to them
14:00 because it kind of puts it in a different perspective for us,
14:03 and it's not just not only a challenge for us individually,
14:07 but we have to carry that younger person next to us
14:09 and build them up for when we end up leaving.
14:13 All right, last question.
14:16 Jada, how do you guys talk about the historic nature of winning three straight
14:21 and now going after a fourth straight?
14:24 It just sounds crazy to even say out loud,
14:26 but what goes through your mind when you hear something like that
14:29 and the history that you guys are sort of chasing?
14:33 It's an honor.
14:34 It's an honor to think about it,
14:35 and I feel like when I talk to my family about it, it's not really set in to me.
14:39 I feel like right now I'm just living life.
14:41 I'm living where my feet are.
14:43 I just want to live a peaceful, joyful life just like anyone else,
14:47 not really trying to look too far in the future.
14:49 I know that can get you in trouble, but it's exciting.
14:53 It's fun.
14:54 I'm excited for this season, but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.
14:58 I just want to enjoy where I'm at now and enjoy my seniors.
15:01 Thank you.