To build a winning, efficient program, it is necessary for the program’s leader have principle and value. That leader for LSU softball is Beth Torina, and she has been leading the team for 11 seasons now.
Torina recently joined the podcast “The Farm” with Brian Cain, a mental performance coach, and discussed just what it takes to build a rock-solid softball program. After a rocky start to this year’s season, Torina said she believes that building a confident and mentally tough team is what ultimately led to some of their biggest successes at the second half of their season.
Being successful is a mindset, and over the years Torina has built what she likes to refer to as a championship culture in Baton Rouge. Instilling this culture and mindset into the moldable minds of athletes has afforded them every opportunity to be successful. LSU softball has adapted an acronym that represents the identity of this championship culture.
That acronym, fittingly enough, is “TIGERS,” which stands for trust, integrity, grit, energy, relentlessness and selflessness. The acronym came from a mental conditioning coach that helped LSU softball create this standard.
“I think the coolest thing about it is that all of our players could tell you that instantly, which is something that we were missing before,” Torina said. “They understand the standards; they can define the standards. I think that that is step one to having a good understanding of it, knowing it, being able to define it. You can’t live it every day if you don’t have a clear picture of what it is, so I think that has been huge for us.”
Having a clear mentality is not only important as a player, though. Torina and her coaching staff have to practice mental toughness just as they preach it to their players, now more than ever. LSU’s head coach believes that in order to demonstrate what mental toughness is, one has to be present in each moment.
“I really try to just be present,” she explained. “I tell myself in my heart before every game that I can be full of emotion but act emotionless. I tell myself that I can act emotion-free. I can be passionate and have a lot of emotions but my actions have to be free of emotion and they have to be more intelligent.”
Being present in each moment allows Torina to be everything that her players need her to be. She can be headstrong, confident, proud and determined. The thing about being present, though, is that she never really has to show her cards.
Torina can be observant by being present; she sees their strengths and weaknesses before they do. Fans at Tiger Park can watch the stern coach on the third-base line, when her players are up to bat, taking solid deep breaths before each pitch. Torina consistently demonstrates what it means to have control over one’s emotions.
Being full of emotion but acting emotionless is not necessarily a trait that the coaching staff attempts to instill in their roster. Torina values everything that the game of softball can draw from an athlete, and she truly enjoys seeing individuality among players.
“[Players] are allowed to be a lot more emotional than me,” Torina said. “I think that a big part of the fun of being on a team is having a whole bunch of different personalities working toward one goal. So I encourage individuality within the team concept, and you have to stay consistent with that. You just have to be who you are.”
Individuality is honored through the TIGERS acronym as well. Torina explains that she tries to instill these core characteristics into her athletes, and how they individually reflect these traits ultimately comes naturally over time.
“One cool thing we do with them is every day we nominate a player of the day after practice. They have to nominate them according to a TIGERS trait,” Torina explained. “They can’t just say, ‘Cindy pitched really good today and I like her headband.’ They have to be able to say, ‘I trusted that Cindy was going to make pitches today because she has worked hard,’ or ‘I know that Connie struck out in the first inning but it was really gritty for her to come back and get the game winning hit. She has been relentless.’”
Torina strives to teach individuality to her athletes because it is one thing that she wishes she could have taught to her 21-year-old self when her coaching career first began. Ultimately for her, it comes down to staying true to yourself and not trying to be bigger than the game of softball.
“I would tell young me to stay true to yourself. Figure out what you do well. Staying consistent no matter who you are up against or who you are facing. I think I’m hit in the face with this every single year all over again. Just stay true to what you do well.”
