At an introductory press conference Wednesday afternoon, former Florida International University head Coach Torina said that she hadn’t been looking for a new job, but when she got the call from Athletic Director Joe Alleva, she couldn’t pass it up.
After a tumultuous few weeks following the introduction and departure of Alabama’s Patrick Murphy as the successor to long-time LSU Head Coach Yvette Girouard, Alleva introduced a new LSU Softball head coach for the second time this month.
This time, he believes he got it right.
“When we knew that Yvette was going to retire, we had a lot of time to make a lot of phone calls. Everyone we called mentioned Beth’s name, and they said positive things about her,” Alleva said. “She’s going to be an outstanding coach here for many, many years to come.”
Torina, who played in the SEC in her college days at Florida, said she was excited for the opportunity to be back in the conference. The new coach was a star pitcher for the Gators from 1997-2000 and looks to inherit a strong LSU pitching staff in 2011.
“I enjoyed competing in the SEC so much. Of course when you’re a coach and you’re competitive, you want to be best and compete at the highest level. In my opinion, the SEC is the highest level,” Torina said at the conference.
Torina said she spoke with the players on Tuesday to introduce herself and share her coaching philosophy, commenting that she came away impressed. The coach also heaped praise on the resources at LSU.
“The facilities here are unlike any other I’ve ever seen,” she said. “I told the girls I get goose bumps about 20 times when I walk into that place [Tiger Park]. It’s absolutely amazing. It’s the best facility I’ve ever seen. Hopefully, our players will respect it every day and understand how lucky they are to be part of this program when they step foot on that field.”
Torina began her coaching career at Stetson University from 2000-2002 before moving to the University of Houston as an assistant for six years, finally landing at FIU after the 2007 season.
Torina was 129-111 in four seasons as head coach at FIU, earning two Sun Belt Coach of the Year awards during that span. She guided the school to a 38-21 record in 2010, a year that included the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
“I don’t think we need to completely reinvent the wheel and throw out everything they’re doing,” she said. “This is a great program. There are talented players. I’m going to come in, just be myself and do the things that I think have made me successful and make other softball programs successful.”
Alleva believes LSU has found the answer after Murphy’s change of heart.
“I know at the end of the day some of you may question some decisions I make, but you’ll never question my heart or passion for the sport of softball and for LSU,” she said. “That’s why I’m here today.”