What Dabo Swinney said to Clemson softball ahead of NCAA Tournament

On3 imageby:Matt Connolly05/21/21

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CLEMSON — The Clemson softball team had a special visitor earlier this week before it left for Tuscaloosa to play in its first NCAA Tournament in program history.

Tigers football coach Dabo Swinney came by and spoke to the team, offering advice about what it takes to win in the postseason.

Swinney, who has been the head coach at Clemson since the middle of the 2008 season, knows a thing or two about winning in the postseason. His Tigers have won six-straight ACC championships and a pair of national titles.

“I asked him to come over and spend a few minutes and maybe give us some of his wisdom. That few minutes turned into about 45 minutes. And it was awesome,” Tigers softball coach John Rittman said. “He hit some great points about looking at the windshield, not the rearview mirror and trusting our preparation. And using different things as motivation.”

Rittman added that his players and staff experienced several different emotions as Swinney “went into preach mode a little bit.”

“One minute you wanted to knock down the wall in front of you, and the next minute you were really deep in thought about your preparation and got a little emotional at times.”

Clemson is matched up with Swinney’s alma mater — Alabama — in the postseason. The Tigers received the No. 2 seed in Alabama’s Regional and will begin play against No. 3 seed Troy on Friday at 3 p.m.

With a win, Clemson would likely play Alabama in the winners’ bracket. The Crimson Tide are the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament.

Clemson-softball-Tigers-NCAA-Tournament

The Clemson softball team is in the same regional as Alabama in the NCAA Tournament. (Clemson Athletics)

“He obviously said, ‘This is personal for me, too.’ … He got us hype. We’re excited. We’re really excited,” senior Ansley Gilstrap said. “One of the things Dabo told us is greatness is for everybody. It’s not just for Alabama or UCLA or Oklahoma. It can be for little ole Clemson too, and you’ve really gotta believe that. We have the tools to beat anybody on any field. We have the pitching, we have the fielding, we have the hitting… and the game doesn’t change, no matter where you go.”

In addition to talking with the team, Swinney also took a little batting practice and hit a ball out of McWhorter Stadium.

Rittman said the whole meeting had a positive impact on his team.

“To have him and his expertise and knowledge and experience be able to talk to our coaches and players was I think very beneficial,” Rittman said.