How a preseason movie night developed Mizzou softball’s culture (2024)

Welcome to the Morning Commute.

Today we’re talking about the culture of Mizzou Softball, and specifically, how they used a preseason movie night to help focus the team’s energy on a singular goal.

Gather ‘round, friends. It’s story time. Full disclosure: I saw this movie with my parents over Christmas break and if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and watch it. It’s so so good.

In January, when the team came back together for preseason, Mizzou head coach Larissa Anderson took them to see the movie The Boys in the Boat, which is a film based on a nonfiction book of the same name about the University of Washington rowing team that represented the USA in the Men’s 8 (oar) in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin during the height of the Great Depression. It’s a classic underdog-finds-triumph kind of story, as it follows this group of young men who don’t really know each other but must learn to work together to overcome adversity to earn a spot to compete in the Olympic Games. There are challenges along the way, of course — the parts aren’t always in sync, the waters get a bit choppy — but in the end, they cut through their competition and got it done. Together. It’s a real tear-jerker, if you’re into that inspirational kinda stuff...

Anderson’s point in having the team watch it was for them to realize that to row in the right direction effectively, all the oars have to be moving in sequence. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in a boat with six, eight or two,” she said. “They have to be working in unison.”

This metaphor obviously extends to more than just sports, of course. I went to the J-School’s strategic plan retreat last week to take notes because, it turns out — when they find out you’re like, really good at taking accurate notes cuz you’re a freelance beat writer on the side you get tapped for the job. Anyway, there’s a point to this tangent. In order for the School — or team, or company, whatever — to move forward and continue to be successful and be one of the best in the country, everyone’s oars have to be moving the same direction towards a common goal.

“If you don’t have all 22 people on board working towards a common goal and that common goal is to win — that’s it, the common goal is to win — and if you’re thinking about yourself and your stats and your playing time, your goal no longer is to win,” she said. “So it’s making sure that everybody understands their value that they have on this team regardless of if it’s a pinch runner, a pinch hitter, a bullpen catcher, the seventh pitcher on (the) staff ... they still have value and we honor that value.”

Take freshman Madison Walker, for example. She starts the season with regular at-bats the first month or two, and when her teammate earns the starting spot over her at first base, and does she complain? Does she mope? Does she transfer? No, she cheers on her teammates enthusiastically and works with the coaching staff to get prepared physically and mentally — the mental side is just as important, if not more so, than the physical — and she earns another chance. She worked her ass off to get herself ready, and look at her now. Two MASSIVE at-bats in absolutely critical potentially season-ending type of moments. She’s a freakin’ Mizzou hero.

The more we’ve gotten a chance to speak with Anderson this year, the more we find out how sticking together, staying the course, working for the greater good... was not a whole-team effort last year. Those oars were paddling in different directions and at different speeds sometimes. No wonder they oftentimes looked disconnected; it seems like some of them were desperate to just get off the damn boat.

“I was exhausted (last year) because I had to motivate,” Anderson first said in a press conference in late April. “Every day I had to wake up and the practice preparation and the emotional energy I had to give to them to get them to do what they needed to do was exhausting. And I don’t have to do that with his team. Like literally, they’re out on the field before practice even starts. And that’s when you know you have an unbelievable culture in your locker room when they want to be here.”

This, my friends, is why this team is still here playing for a chance to reach the Women’s College World Series. This team is united and rowing in the same direction in unison. THAT’S why they’re still in it. Well, and the immense talent of Laurin Krings, but she’s not in a solo kayak, y’all.

“This group is special,” Alex Honnold reminded us. “I feel like, going into Super Regionals with this team is going to be very successful and I think we have the group of girls to do it.”

“They’ve done everything right,” Anderson told us emphatically after the game on Sunday night. “You can have talented teams that hate one another (side note: ain’t that the truth?!). But when you have a group of young women that do everything right all of the time and everything they possibly can to be successful, you really want to see them reap the benefits and reward all their hard work.”

Mic drop.

[Am I tearing up right now reading this caption?]

• Nathan Hurst revealed, One Man’s Mizzou Football Summer Wish List

Just like landing Zollers led to a torrent of Tiger commitments, I think getting one highly ranked playmaker to sign on will open the flood gates for more offensive talent. Right now, our best bet for a big-name offensive player is probably St. Louis running back Jamarion Parker or Florida receiver Jayvan Boggs, who seems to be developing a relationship (at least over twitter) with Matt Zollers.

Nathan celebrates the end of the school year and the lighter CoMo traffic with his personal wish list for the Tigers by the time students head back.

• I wrote, With the odds decidedly NOT in their favor, Mizzou emerges from elimination purgatory victorious

As the team rushed the field to envelop freshman Madison Walker who hit the walk-off stunner in the bottom of the 9th inning to secure Super Regional status, I had tears in my eyes. I know, I know, it’s not professional blah-blah-blah, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted this moment so badly for this team. With doubters everywhere, look what they did. THEY DID THIS. REGIONAL CHAMPIONS.

So yeah... just read it. Please. Thank you love you mean it.

• Josh said Mizzou Softball’s “clutch” gene comes through during a long, nervy weekend in his Morning Commute piece

It was pretty easy in the heat of the moment yesterday to criticize Mizzou’s lineup, which labored for the good part of the weekend. The Tigers scored a grand total of 16 runs across five games, not exactly the sort of performance you’d want headed into the final 16. It should be noted, however, that 10 of those 16 runs came in the sixth inning or later. Eight of those 10 runs came in must-win games. So half of the runs Mizzou scored this weekend came in situations one could only define as “clutch.”

Josh encourages people to read all the stuff I work this weekend (#blessed), while also talking about this Tiger team, and how they went from infuriating to clutch enough to claw their way through the Columbia Regional.

• Over at Rock M+, there was plenty of discussion about the spring portal class and looking at some new basketball offers, Join in!

In Case You Missed it:

• Now that the team seems complete, do read through Matt Harris’ pieces on each of Mizzou’s new commits. It also includes a running time of 71 minutes of film. Crews | Perkins | Warrick | Mitchell | Gray

Other Media I’m Consuming:

• The spring GPA numbers have been released at MUTigers.com, and the Tigers were impressive on and off the court to end the 2023-24 school year.

The student-athlete GPA was 3.33, good for the second highest Spring GPA in the university’s history. 79 student-athletes achieved 4.0s, while 248 had 3.50 or higher. Three programs — Men’s Hoops (3.22, 1x 4.0, 6x 3.5+), Women’s Hoops (3.62, 6x 4.0, 12x 3.5+) and Women’s Golf (x) — posted their highest Spring GPA EVER.

Gym’s 3.61 was their second-highest since 2014 and highest overall since 2020 (4x 4.0, 13x 3.5+) and Softball’s 3.53 was their second highest in the last 11 years (5x 4.0, 16x 3.5+). Overall honors goes to Tennis with their astonishing 3.86 GPA, their highest ever, and I would think should be highest in school history for any sport, but what do I know? The worst? It was football, who was the only team under 3.0 at a 2.95, though it was their fourth highest Spring GPA since 2004 (5x 4.0, 25x 3.5+).

• In all the softball hubbub, I missed this article on Drinkwitz’s roles outside of coaching. Good stuff from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Eli Hoff.
• Mizzou soccer, gymnastics, tennis, swim & dive, wrestling and football all found themselves in the top 10 of their respective sports for serving the community, per this graphic by HelperHelper, which tracks NCAA DI, DII and DIII service hours and opportunities.
• Everything Mizzou Softball related, including this great piece about Laurin Krings from Eli Hoff and this one by the Columbia Tribune’s Calum McAndrew.
• And marveling at this softball stats post by Mizzou comms guy Shawn Davis.
• I’m listening to this on repeat. CHILLS.

• And watching this many, many times.

• And enjoying this lunacy from Mizzou Volleyball

• Reading this interesting viewpoint on new commit Josh Gray by 2ndChancePoots hoop-head (and Mizzou fanatic) Jim Root
• And wishing Happy Trails to Hayley Frank, who will begin an overseas hoops career in Germany. Viel Glück, Hayley! (complete with a dad joke by announcer Brad Trenago)
• Unrelated to Mizzou: I found this Q&A from andscape’s Marc J. Spears at with the Pelicans CJ McCollum, who was just awarded the NBA J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award really great, as well as this piece from andscape’s David Dennis Jr. on why Butker’s commencement speech comments won’t negatively impact his career a good read. The Washington Post’s Ben Golliver went Inside the Timberwolves’ record Game 7 comeback that dethroned the Nuggets (and by extension, semi-Mizzou alum MPJ)
• And finally, I’m saying HEY FELLAS to the rookies in mini camp!

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