TEMPE, Ariz. -- Sun Devils softball coach Trisha Ford was conducting routine exit interviews at the end of last season when outfielder Nichole Chilson left a lump in her throat.
"The first thing I said to coach Ford was 'I'm excited to come back to the same coaching staff for the second year in a row,'" Chilson said.
Coaching continuity has not been a luxury the Sun Devils seniors have enjoyed. Ford was their third head coach (there were actually co-coaches in 2015-2016) at ASU in three years so she understood when she arrived that she had to earn her players' trust.
"Last year, they had their feelers out. They've had a lot of transition [so they were wondering] 'are you going to stay? Are you the real deal?'" Ford said. "They should have been that way. They had gone through a lot."
This season has been a different story. Ford's message is more familiar. Her expectations are understood and the Sun Devils were 21-2 with a No. 14 national ranking before a midweek tilt against Iowa.
"It's awesome this season because we know the standards," senior pitcher Breanna Macha said. "We know what our team DNA is supposed to be made of. We have higher expectations. What more could you ask than that?"
Ford said there are still challenges. The Sun Devils haven't reached the point where the coaching staffs' concepts have become muscle memory -- in thought or execution -- but the players are miles ahead of last season and they no longer wonder where they stand.
"That's parenting 101," Ford said. "They have boundaries and they know if they step outside of those boundaries there is a good or bad consequence.
"They're able to understand our lingo and what we're expecting out of them, glove angle, just all the little nuances that we talk about every day. It makes sense to them."
So does their coach.
"She's really high intensity out on the field and I don't think we had that before," Chilson said. "She has brought a lot of structure to the program. We know everything we are doing, why we're doing it and she makes sure we know before we do it."
Macha describes Ford as a bulldog.
"She has that fight in her and she wants that grit in all of her players," Macha said. "It definitely rubs off on all of us".
"This is the most fun I have had playing other than when I was little. She kind of puts that little girl love for playing the game back in you. When you have a coach that stays up until 3 in the morning, working her butt off for the team, it makes you re-evaluate. She reminds me why I play when I see how much she loves the game."
Ford understands she is as much teacher as coach and confidante, so along with that love comes tough love.
"When they understand that you care about them on and off the field it's so much easier for them to buy in," she said. "I tell them if you go 0 for 4 or 1 for 4, I still love you and I'm still going to write you a letter of recommendation. You had a bad day at the ballpark. Live with it. That's part of life. Re-evaluate, reassess, figure out your plan of attack and move forward."
The Sun Devils are just a few days away from Pac-12 play where five top-15 teams await, but Ford sees confidence in her players and the ability to just go play, free of the distractions that limited the program the past three seasons.
"The possibilities are endless," she said. "We've got a really special group. We've got fun, we've got talent, we've got good team chemistry. I just think we've got to get hot and we've got to get lucky."
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"The first thing I said to coach Ford was 'I'm excited to come back to the same coaching staff for the second year in a row,'" Chilson said.
Coaching continuity has not been a luxury the Sun Devils seniors have enjoyed. Ford was their third head coach (there were actually co-coaches in 2015-2016) at ASU in three years so she understood when she arrived that she had to earn her players' trust.
"Last year, they had their feelers out. They've had a lot of transition [so they were wondering] 'are you going to stay? Are you the real deal?'" Ford said. "They should have been that way. They had gone through a lot."
This season has been a different story. Ford's message is more familiar. Her expectations are understood and the Sun Devils were 21-2 with a No. 14 national ranking before a midweek tilt against Iowa.
"It's awesome this season because we know the standards," senior pitcher Breanna Macha said. "We know what our team DNA is supposed to be made of. We have higher expectations. What more could you ask than that?"
Ford said there are still challenges. The Sun Devils haven't reached the point where the coaching staffs' concepts have become muscle memory -- in thought or execution -- but the players are miles ahead of last season and they no longer wonder where they stand.
"That's parenting 101," Ford said. "They have boundaries and they know if they step outside of those boundaries there is a good or bad consequence.
"They're able to understand our lingo and what we're expecting out of them, glove angle, just all the little nuances that we talk about every day. It makes sense to them."
So does their coach.
"She's really high intensity out on the field and I don't think we had that before," Chilson said. "She has brought a lot of structure to the program. We know everything we are doing, why we're doing it and she makes sure we know before we do it."
Macha describes Ford as a bulldog.
"She has that fight in her and she wants that grit in all of her players," Macha said. "It definitely rubs off on all of us".
"This is the most fun I have had playing other than when I was little. She kind of puts that little girl love for playing the game back in you. When you have a coach that stays up until 3 in the morning, working her butt off for the team, it makes you re-evaluate. She reminds me why I play when I see how much she loves the game."
Ford understands she is as much teacher as coach and confidante, so along with that love comes tough love.
"When they understand that you care about them on and off the field it's so much easier for them to buy in," she said. "I tell them if you go 0 for 4 or 1 for 4, I still love you and I'm still going to write you a letter of recommendation. You had a bad day at the ballpark. Live with it. That's part of life. Re-evaluate, reassess, figure out your plan of attack and move forward."
The Sun Devils are just a few days away from Pac-12 play where five top-15 teams await, but Ford sees confidence in her players and the ability to just go play, free of the distractions that limited the program the past three seasons.
"The possibilities are endless," she said. "We've got a really special group. We've got fun, we've got talent, we've got good team chemistry. I just think we've got to get hot and we've got to get lucky."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter