SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, April 13, 1993
11
Competition fuels softball coach's fire
Continued from Page 1.
"Around 11, I mentally prepare myself for basketball," says Haack, a 6-foot-1,240-pound, bruising, Charles Barkley-style player.
Brad Stoll, Lawrence junior, regularly takes part in the lunch-time hoops.
"He likes to bang his big body around," Stoll said. "And beat up on little guys like me. He's very competitive."
Noon arrives, and Haack and the rest of the lunch-hour players begin their battle. The game may not have the style that usually graces the field house floor, but the competition and intensity is there — mostly thanks to Haack.
"He likes to talk a lot of smack." Stoll said. "That fires everyone up."
Photo courtesy of Kansas sports information
Coach Kalum Haack and assistant coach Gayle Luedke consult with a player after a game
Haack rumbles up and down the court, elbows flying. As the game winds to an end, most of the players station themselves at one end of the court or the other. Haack still runs the floor, not smooth and not elegant. But he is the one still running.
The coach's basketball game displays the essence of his life, always competitive and always moving
H he been moving since he left his hometown of Hempstead, Texas, population
2,000. There was no baseball program, so he played football. His father, Buster Haack, played on a professional fast-pitch softball team on the Texas circuit. Haack spent his free time hanging around the softball park, shagging balls for the team.
Haack began playing fast-pitch himself at age 16. He continued playing throughout high school, balancing his time between softball and football. He earned a football scholarship to Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas. He spent two years there and began a ritual he would become very
familiar with—moving.
Haack spent his 1978-79 academic year, his junior year, as a linebacker at Cameron State, at top National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics school in Lawton, Okla.
One year later, Haack packed up again, this time moving closer to home. He chose Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas, which is about 60 miles from Hempstead and his parents.
In the spring of 1980, Haack graduated from Sam Houston with a bachelor's degree in education, a major in physical education and a minor in history. He made the dean's list with a 3.17 grade average and was named to the All-Lone Star Conference honorable mention team as a middle backer.
He was invited to a Houston Oliers tryout camp, but surgery for a knee injury kept him from making it to the camp. Haack admits to having a big ego when it comes to his football career.
"Iprobably thoughtIwasalotbetter than Iactuallywas,"he says, laughing.
After graduation, Haack realized that for the first time in his life he was no longer an athlete.
"There was about a four hour time period I dealt with when football was over," he says. "I had nothing to do." He said, "I saw something."
During his football career, Haack's love for softball never died. After graduation, he began to help with the women's softball team at Sam Houston
Haack became a graduate assistant for the LadyKats, who won the NAIA National Championship in 1980. The following year, Sam Houston moved up to the NCAA Division II and won the national championship.
After a brief stint coaching junior
The next year brought another new home for Haack.
Kalum Haack
University of Kansas Softball Coach
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
Total
Sam Houston State
University of Kansas
University of Kansas
University of Kansas
University of Kansas
University of Kansas
34-26
33-32
36-27
44-17
38-14-1
45-10
230 261
coaching highlights
KU coaching highlights
sacthing highrighs
■ First round of the
2018 WBC, 2.9-18
100th career victory
■ Fourth round of the
2018 WBC, 2.8-28
100th victory with KU
Big Eight and Midwest Region coach of the year 1992
World Series appearance in 1992
Sported in career victories at KL (196)
Coached KU to its only NCAA College World Series appearance in 1992
100th victory with KB,
defeated Missouri. 4-21-90
and second in winning percentage (ebs.)
Only third Kansas coach in school history
Derek Noien/KANSAN
Irene Lanier / KANSAI
Softball coach Kalum Haack sits in his office with the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship trophy behind him.
high football in Katy, Texas, he moved back to the collegiate level and softball, taking on an assistant coaching position at Nebraska. This time he did not travel alone. He took his future wife Leslie Richardson with him.
Arendardson, from Irving, Texas, was one of the top high school pitchers in the state. In 1982, Haack convinced Richardson to attend Sam Houston, where he was an assistant at the time. When Haack moved to coach the Cornhuskers, Richardson was one of four players who transferred with him. It was in Nebraska that the two homesick Texans realized that their relationship was budding into something more than player-coach.
At the time of their engagement, her sophomore year, they decided it would be best for their relationship if she stopped playing softball.
"I stopped playing because of him," Leslie says. "I made the right decision."
During his tenure at Nebraska, Haack helped the Cornhuskers win two straight Big Eight Conference championships and play in two College World Series.
After a short time coaching football again, this time at the high school level, Haack returned to his alma mater. Sam Houston, as head softball coach.
After one year at that position,
Haack accepted a job as head softball
coach at Kansas.
Because it is raining, he will have to hold practice in Anschutz Sports Pavilion — again. He meets his team at 4:30 and begins practice with an intense 30-minute talk.
"Iguess I'm not doing a real good job of coaching right now," says Haack. "We really need to be more intense."
Once the lunch-hour basketball has come to an end, it's back to work for Haack.
The players look around at each other, as they have heard that speech before.
Haack, who is willing to try anything to win, decides that a change in practice might benefit the team.
Unlike the long, hard practices that usually greet the women, today's mood is light. Haack has them scrimmage in a doubleheader instead of sending them around Anschutz on wind spirits.
Haack pitches for one team, challenging the players who have been slumping.
Senior center fielder Ty Saxby steps up to bat. Although she has hit three home runs this year, she has not produced the amount of offense that Haack wants to see.
Haack winds up and fires in a pitch — low and outside.
"Strike one," he declares.
A frown from Saxby greets a grimace from Haack. He is obviously throwing harder to her than the others.
Haack wipes the sweat off of his brow and reloads. This time Saxby concentrates and smashes a line drive.
Haack gives a small, hardly noticeable smile.
He doesn't lose his hard, competitive composure, but there are more smiles today.
After the final out of the second game, Haack barks out tomorrow's schedule.
Senior pitcher Jill Bailey welcomed today's change in practice, noticing all her teammates' smiles.
And with that, practice is completed.
"On the field at 2:30," he says.
"It was really laid back," she says. "A real practice would be much more intense."
"Tomorrow we'll have a typical practice." promises assistant coach
Irene Laver/KANSAN
Head softball coach Kalum Haack looks and gives advice to senior Shanna Cole on her hitting technique during practice at Anschutz. Sports Pavilion.
Gayle Luedke.
Smiles vanish.
"It's hard for me to think of him as Kalum, said Spitaleri, who now lives in California. He's still 'Coach' to me.
The players have immense respect for Haack. Most are reluctant to say much about him.
"He's the best coach I've played for. You have to put up with his expectations. He wants to win all the time — no matter what."
After practice Haack goes home to his wife Leslie and 2-year-old daughter Matte.
"He truly cares about the girls," Leslie says, referring to the team. "But softball doesn't consume our lives."
Haack says that if he has to move again it only will be into a bigger house in Lawrence. He has finally made it to where he wants to be, he says. He finally has found a home.
not too many people get to have a job where they love what they do," he says. "I love what I do."
Williams happy with 'amazing' 1993 season
Coach receives praise from peers, anticipates successful season in '94
Another Big Eight Conference championship, another berth in the Final Four, and a 29-7 overall record have given Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams a feeling of satisfaction.
By David Dorsey
Kansan sportswriter
Getting that feeling, however, was difficult. "We really did have an amazing year," he said yesterday at his post-season news conference. Despite making it to the national semifinal, it was frustrating for Williams to make it to the Final Four and not bring home the national championship.
"I have that disappointment, but if I'm halfway intelligent I have to be really excited about what was accomplished."
the Jayhawks were a game away from
After losing April 3 to eventual national champion North Carolina, Williams said he had talked to some of his peers, including Seton Hall coach P.J. Carlislemo. The coach congratulated Williams on a successful season, and in the process, raised his spirits.
playing for the national championship. It was also the second time in three years that Williams guided Kansas to the Final Four.
"It almost takes me to get in an atmosphere around my peers for me to understand the success myself," Williams said. "The other coaches know how difficult it is and know the problems that you go through."
His favorite part of the tournament was the day before the semifinals, when the Final Four teams held practices that were open to the public. Williams said he relished the idea that of the 208 Division I coaches, 294 of them wished that they could trade places with him.
Last week, Williams attended a high school All-American game in Chicago, where he watched future Jayhawks-Jaque Vaughn and Scot Pollard play. Vaughn a 6-foot-1
point guard, and Pollard, a 6-10 center, will be freshmen at Kansas next season.
"A guy in Chicago came down for an autograph, came up to me and said 'congratulations coach, you had a decent season,' Williams said, emphasizing the word decent. "And when he said that I felt like saying, 'Wow! Your tools are pretty doggie high.'"
Williams said that the Jayhawks' success in the NCAA tournament would not affect recruiting for next season. As of yesterday, Williams said he did not plan on using Kansas' remaining scholarship, which he will hold and give out next year.
Aside from Vaughn and Pollard, Kansas also signed B.J. Williams, a 6-8 forward from Wichita, and Nick Proud, a 6-9 forward/center from Sandy, Utah.
"The four kids that we signed, I'm estatic about it." Rox Williams said.
"Our success this year will help us in the long run to get in the door with some of the underclassmen that we're trying to recruit right now."
Rachel G. Thompson / KANSAN
Coach Roy Williams met the press for a news conference one last time this season. He answered questions about Kansas 1992-93 season yesterday at Patroir Athletic Center.