O’Sullivan taking looser approach
‘You need to learn there’s a fine line,’ Gators coach says.
OMAHA, NEB. — For the sixth time in eight seasons, Kevin O’Sullivan’s Florida Gators are in Omaha for the College World Series. And, as the story goes, O’Sullivan’s last four trips to Nebraska have ended in heartbreak. A final series loss in 2011. An elimination by one run in 2012. Another one in 2015. And nothing but one-run losses as the tournament’s top seed in 2016.
Losses don’t get much closer than the ones the Gators have experienced in Omaha this decade. But from those losses, O’Sullivan has learned how to better prepare for the College World Series. For one, the only team he’s game-planned for is TCU, Florida’s Game 1 opponent tonight. No more are the days of trying to prepare for seven teams at once.
On top of that, O’Sullivan has learned to loosen the grip.
“There’s such a fine line between winning and losing out here,” O’Sullivan said Friday. “First couple years, (we) came out, maybe too restrictive. Probably trying to keep too much of a stranglehold on the players and what they were able to do on off days and learn. That didn’t work. You need to learn there’s a fine line. They have families out here and girlfriends, and they need to enjoy themselves.”
Just as O’Sullivan is trying to coach looser, he expects his players to play loosely. As much as people might think the Gators feel the pressure of a decade of missed opportunities, O’Sullivan doesn’t think his players feel that way.
“I don’t think they feel pressure at all,” O’Sullivan said. “I think they’re excited about the opportunity. We don’t address that this has got to be the team. I mean, we’re lucky to be here. I know we’ve been here six of our last eight years, but it’s not easy.”
More than anything, that was O’Sullivan’s message. As much as he wants this year to be the year, he doesn’t want this trip to feel like coming home empty-handed equals an empty season. Getting to the College World Series is hard. Winning an SEC regular-season title, winning a NCAA Regional and Super Regional all mean something.
“I can’t look at this as a failure, and I don’t want our players to feel that way, either,” O’Sullivan said. “There’s no question we would love to win the first national championship at Florida, but I (will) never look back on the season and say that was a failure because it’s so hard to get to this point.”