Hart Retires; Crowds Roar

Dave Hart’s retirement came as something of a surprise, at least to me. Not that I’m in the loop or anything, but I didn’t see or hear anything about it in advance. He’s old enough at 67; I didn’t realize that either, thanks to some spectacular hair dye and my never having been in the same room with him. The retirement package was pretty generous too, considering his short tenure and controversial results. There were some nice post mortems from the men’s coaches, not so much from the women’s, where the legacy is more problematic. focusing on the hugely unpopular decision to change all of the women’s teams with the exception of the basketball squad from Lady Vols to merely Vols, like the men. Not only did the decision seem arbitrary and ill-considered, but the response from Hart to the critics was imperious and inept, making Hart look even less friendly to women’s athletics than he probably was. Still, people expecting to hear lamentations or praise for Hart from the women’s side of the merged athletic department will have to strain pretty hard and use their imagination.

The guy who sits near us at the softball games and usually wears his special order “Dave Hart Sux” t-shirt will probably be happy to retire the shirt this year too. Probably make a good shirt for lawn-mowing.

The drums are being beat in the paper again with still-aggrieved fans lobbying in the letter section for a return of the Lady Vol name. It’s certainly something the next Athletic Director needs to seriously consider. If he (or she) decides against it, let’s hope the reasoning is more clearly laid out than it was in the first place, and the fans not treated as worthless malcontents whose opinions don’t matter.

Ashley Andrews Returns

(twitter profile photo)

With Patrick Lawson moving on after three years as Director of Operations for the Volunteer Softball program there was an opening on the staff that has been filled by former player Ashley Andrews, who was a four year starter from 2009-2012 starting at shortstop and moving to catcher when Madison Shipman arrived.

Good choice.

I only saw Ashley after she took over behind the plate and she seemed like such a natural at the position defensively I was shocked to learn she hadn’t played four years there. She was never a huge offensive threat but she was so smooth behind the plate and so competitive on the field, by demeanor and as a leader, that she was not an offensive leader either. She was one of those players you figure if you could just clone the attitude and instill it in all the players, championships would be all but inevitable.

A Washington native, she’s been an assistant coach at the University of Washington the past two seasons. During that time Washington made two trips to the NCAA tournament and set program offensive records. After her playing days at Tennessee ended she was a graduate assistant with the Volunteers for a couple of seasons. while pursuing her master’s degree in Sports Psychology. According to the UT sports website her duties will include “the coordination, planning and execution of the program’s day-to-day activities as well as coordinating team travel plans and meals, and supervising the team’s managers.”

The coaches seemed pleased with Lawson’s performance and the split appears to be harmonious, so it looks to be wins all the way around.