Arizona Softball Coaches Honored as Nation's Best

This weekend's Frat Boy News Daily Sports Page

University of Arizona (compiled by The Wildcat Online)

It's the players who climb the mountain of success, but it's the coaches who stay behind them the whole way, pushing them toward their goals.

The Arizona softball coaches have been named the NCAA Division I staff of the year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, after the Wildcats won their eighth national title, and second straight, in June.

UA head coach Mike Candrea, assistants Larry Ray and Nancy Evans, volunteer assistant Dave Feinberg and student assistant Alicia Hollowell will be honored at the NFCA national convention in Las Vegas Nov. 28-Dec. 1.

"It's a huge honor," Evans said. "It's a humbling experience. We worked really hard this year with our team, and it paid off in the end."

Throughout the season, Evans put together scouting reports, and also gathered video and charts on opposing hitters.

The cerebral approach the coaches brto the game is what allowed the Wildcats to finish 50-14-1 this season, said junior pitcher Taryne Mowatt.

"Nancy has always been there, teaching me the mental part of the game," she said. "She never really tampered too much with the physical part and the mechanics of the game."