Softball: T.J. Hubbard feels right at home at Lamson Park

Kevin Foote, The Advertiser, April 12, 2014

Their first meeting was one that might have turned some coaches against him from the beginning.

For T.J. Hubbard, however, he just saw a feisty focus in UL coach Michael Lotief that he easily identified with.

It was 2004 and Sun Belt Conference softball was still in its infancy. Lotief’s UL Ragin’ Cajuns program arrived in Denton, Texas to play North Texas just after a pretty heavy rain storm.

"He and Stefni got off the bus and introduced themselves and the first thing he says to me is something like, ‘Are you just going to try to rain it out, or are we going to try to play?’

"I told him that I don’t shy away from competition, so we’re definitely going to try to get the games in."

For the record, all four games were played and UL won 3-0, 3-1, 1-0 and 9-3. Even more important than those final scores, though, is somehow a mutual respect and eventually friendship sparked out of that conversation.

For most of the last decade, that meant two coaches talking on the phone on a weekly basis comparing notes and strategies and debating the many issues surrounding the sport they love.

Over the last two years, however, the tone began to change.

"Whether it was t-ball or baseball or softball, whatever, we always talked about enjoying a season coaching together one day," Hubbard said.

What began as a joke got more serious and after last season ended, Lotief asked Hubbard if he was serious.

"He just asked, ‘Do you want to do it? and I said, ‘I think I do,’" Hubbard said.

So after six years as the head coach at North Texas (plus four as an assistant) with a record of 161-161-1, Hubbard was ready for a new challenge as the new associate head coach at UL.

"I wanted to compete at this level," Hubbard said. "I want to be in a position to win a national championship."

So as Hubbard was doing his part to prepare the No. 18-ranked UL Ragin’ Cajuns for this weekend’s huge Sun Belt Conference showdown with No. 15-ranked South Alabama beginning with a 2 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Lamson Park, he relished the thought of how far this current group of Cajuns has come since he first arrived in Lafayette.

Coming to a program that had finished its last two seasons in the Super Regional round, Hubbard got a bit of a wake-up call once practice began in the fall. So many of the established stars that he had competed against were gone.

"After watching for a little while, I told Mike, ‘Wow, we’ve got a lot of work to do,’ and he already knew that," Hubbard said.

So the two old friends went to work, as the leaders of this exciting new coaching staff that also features newcomers Lisa Norris and Sarah Draheim with Lana Bowers returning.

"By the end of the fall, you could just see how so many of the girls had improved," Hubbard said. "Mike was still very concerned, but I told him that we’d be OK."

Naturally, the work was just beginning and Hubbard’s role in it all continued to expand. In addition to the conditioning work, he helped to mold the defensive skills of an extremely unseasoned outfield, with the exception of sophomore returnee Shellie Landry.

He’s also aided Lotief in improving the young hitters in the season-long chore of attempting to balance out an efficient lineup.

But mostly the two have both challenged and pushed each other through many long discussions, arguments and debates … whatever it takes to make the team better and of course, get their points across. 

"We don’t always agree on things," Hubbard laughed. "Sometimes we’ll stay here until 10, 11 or 12 at night talking or arguing. I think it makes us better. I really think the kids are the beneficiaries."

For instance, they both work with the hitters, but have slightly different ways of doing it.

"He sees the swing more bio-mechanically," Hubbard said. "I look at it from a different perspective. It’s a great fit really. He gives me a lot of freedom. We may look at things a little differently, but we’re both passionate about what everything we do."

While some of their detailed approaches to the game may fall in different categories, their basic mentality has always been the same.

"His work ethic is tremendous," Lotief said. "He has a deep understanding of the game. His passion for the game and his passion for winning are very similar to mine.

"It’s been a lot of fun to have those intellectual debates about things that we’re passionate about."

Of course, that back-and-forth process began with Lotief picking Hubbard’s brain about his strategies against the Cajuns while he was at North Texas.

"That’s invaluable," Lotief said. "It’s great to have that perspective from a coach who strategized against you for 12 years. You can learn a lot about what you’re doing and the way you do things from that and that’s always a good thing."

With that said, Lotief admitted that last part wasn’t a two-way street.

"I’ve never told him what we tried to do against him," Lotief laughed. "It’s not time for that yet."

Once the regular season began, Hubbard took on another role in terms of game management – reporting all the lineup changes to the umpire.

"It can get very confusing," Hubbard said. "I’m more of an organized person, so he just told me, ‘You’re handling that,’ and I was fine with that."

Despite all the preseason question marks, that long-awaited first season of working together has fared pretty well. The Cajuns are 28-6-1 overall, in sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt standings at 9-0 and currently No. 9 in the national RPI rankings. 

"I’ve really enjoyed this season," Hubbard said. "I love the support the administration and the community give this program. They talk about family in a lot of places. I tried to instill that at North Texas, but it’s no comparison with the very intimate relationship that this team has with the community.

"Everybody’s apart of the program here. It really is a family. I’m telling you, it’s special. You don’t see that at very many places around the country."

South Alabama at UL

Series: 2 p.m. doubleheader Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday.

Place: Lamson Park.

At stake: SBC lead with UL at 28-6-1, 9-0; USA 31-6, 8-2.

Rankings: USA 15/16; UL No. 18/20.

RPIs: USA No. 17; UL No. 9.

Top Pitchers: USA – Hannah Campbell (12-3, 0.82, 119.1 IP, 132 K); Farish Beard (17-3, 0.62, 113.2 IP, 169 K); UL – Christina Hamilton (13-1, 1.51, 106.2 IP, 110 K); Jordan Wallace (13-2, 3.60, 91.1 IP, 120 K).

Top Hitters: USA – Stephanie Pilkington (.356, 19 RBIs); Kaitlyn Griffith (.299, 2 HRs, 17 RBIs); Amanda Minahan (.298, 5 HRs, 17 RBIs); UL – Natalie Fernandez (.518); Lexie Elkins (.374, 10 HRs, 41 RBIs); Haley Hayden (.341, 12 HRs, 42 RBIs).