Q&A with OU softball coach Patty Gasso,
Softball was hardly a selling point when Oklahoma targeted Patty Gasso as its next coach in 1995.
“I remember on my interview,” Gasso said, “driving past Reaves Park at night and them saying, `Hey, that's where your field is, but let's go look at the football stadium.'”
She's able to laugh about it now. Gasso's program went from sharing Reaves Park with slow-pitch teams, to moving across the street to Marita Hynes Field, to now having plans for a new $22 million stadium.
Twenty-five years and four national championships since that interview, Gasso, from Torrance, California, was introduced Tuesday afternoon as one of seven 2019 inductees into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
Q: Having spent 25 years here, do you consider yourself an Oklahoman?
A: “You never forget where you came from, but I wasn't Sooner born, I wasn't Sooner bred. But when I die I will be Sooner dead. My second son was born here. My kids were raised here. They went to school here. I never imagined 25 years ago that I would still be here, but it's where God wants us to be.”
What was your first thought when you found out you were being inducted into the Hall of Fame?
“I guess I didn't believe it at first. There are so many people involved with the success of the program besides me — from my family, to the players to coaches. It's sometimes hard to get the attention just on me, but it's an honor for our program and university. I'm honored to go in with Coach (Bob) Stoops. That's pretty neat.”
Have you thought about how long you want to keep coaching?
“I know I should probably start thinking about it, but I still enjoy it so much. Especially with the people that I'm working with. I really haven't sat down and put a number to it, but I know this isn't gonna last forever. As long as I feel like I'm enjoying it and I'm connecting with the athletes, I'm gonna keep going.”
You've coached four national championship teams. Does one memory stand out?
“One that I think was extremely special was 2013 because that was after the tornado, the devastation that happened, and how we completely left our minds off the pressures of winning to try and make our state proud in a very tough time. It's always going to be in our memory. It changed our program. It changed a lot of individuals on our team. We were representing OU, but I don't know if we'll ever feel a bigger responsibility. All they wanted to do was bring joy and pride to the state. I'll never forget that.”