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IllustrateD volume 24, issue 4 83 f Schuette caught one player flexing during practice and said, "Whoa," and the response: "Sorry, coach." Schuette quickly asked, "Is that you? You be you." That's been a common refrain, as Schuette tries to foster a relaxed en- vironment, one that allows players to showcase their personalities and stress how each can fit to produce suc- cess on the field. "It's funny, the comments they make, 'Coach cares about everything.' You're right, I do," Schuette said. "I enjoy it. They're fun because they're not soldiers. I like personality. They keep me on my toes. I don't want them to be robots. I want them to be people. Our team huddles before practice or after practice, they're telling side jokes or stories, moments that happened among the team, and that's enjoyable for me to see because it definitely was not like that in the fall." And, she's hoping, as players con- tinue to buy into her approach, she'll see results on the field. In individual meetings with play- ers before the season, Schuette asked them for season goals. Some of them quickly said, "Big Ten champion," fully knowing Purdue's previous inability to compete for that in the school's softball history. Other players, though, said they wanted to be better than fifth, the highest these players have finished in the conference, and Schuette liked the realism behind those goals. Knowing that can only lead to better things. "I think any time you step foot on the field, you want to compete for a championship," Schuette said. "But … I enjoy hearing people say that they want to finish better than fifth because that is a true test on how can you do. I don't think when you say that you're selling yourself short. You're not say- ing, 'Yeah, if we finish fourth, we're fabulous and spectacular and we're done. We accomplished everything we want.' That's not what you're saying. But I think you're being realistic be- cause you have to be fourth first and then down the stretch, you can com- pete for championships." j The lineup card Purdue's projected lineup and rota- tion Players (bats) Pos. Avg.* Andie Varsho (L) LF .415 Maia Monchek (L) RF .292 Lindsey Rains (L) CF .300 Ashley Burkhardt (L) 1B .321 Danielle Fletcher (R) C .245 Paris Andrew (L) SS .211 Tori Chiodo (L) 2B .264 Kristen Hoppman (R) 3B N/A Mary Gooding (L) DH N/A ToP reserves Players (bats) Pos. Avg.* Gabi Brown (L) OF .250 Katy McJunkin (R) C N/A roTATion Players (throws) W-L erA* Lilly Fecho (L) 8-6 2.96 Lexy Moore (R) 11-15 3.80 Alex Whittemore (R) 2-0 2.75 CoAChes head/pitching: Kim Schuette (First season) hitting: Jason Dorey (First) Assistant: J.T. Gasso (First)