I slid into a booth at IHOP across from a backup freshman pitcher for the Oklahoma Sooners. I leaned across the table. “Tell me what’s going on in your life outside of softball,” I said.
The player seemed startled. “Am I in trouble, Coach?”
“Gosh, no.” I got why she was nervous, though. A Division I college head coach taking a freshman athlete out for breakfast?
“I want to get to know you as a person, not just a player,” I said. Then I sat back and told her about my dogs—“One’s named Una and the other Dos”—and their many antics. Dogs are always a good icebreaker.
The young woman relaxed. “Honestly, I’m a little lonely,” she said. “I’m shy, so I’m not comfortable around new people.”
“I know what that’s like,” I said. “I grew up in California with a single mom who scraped together money to send us to Catholic school. Some of my classmates had big houses on
