The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/970722
MAY 2018 THE WOLVERINE 71 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? her way to Big Ten Player of the Year honors. "I grew and grew, and had a very successful year my junior year, pitch‑ ing as well," Allard recalled. "Michi‑ gan's program gave me opportuni‑ ties in areas I didn't think I would have them." She hit .300 again as a senior and won 10 games in the circle, finishing up a general studies degree with an accounting emphasis. She qualified to take business courses, without any consideration for coaching. "That was never my thought," she said. "That was the furthest thing from my mind. I never thought I would coach. My degree allowed me to take classes at the business school, as many electives as I could. My plan was to sit for the CPA exam." She eventually enjoyed the chal‑ lenge of accounting, but wasn't crazy about sitting at a desk all day. She went to work at her father's Chevro‑ let dealership, getting groomed as a business manager who would even‑ tually take over the franchise. Then she found softball again, and everything changed. "I volunteered to coach at the high school level, and I thought, I really, really enjoy this," she said. Her altered plan involved getting certified to teach high school while serving as an assistant softball coach under Gayle Blevins at Iowa. But getting involved again at the college level quickly turned her thoughts in that direction. She found herself laying the foun‑ dation for her coaching career at both Michigan and Iowa, although she didn't recognize it during her first stop. "I learned how to develop players and people, and how to coach," she said. "Michigan was a great experi‑ ence for me. Having coaches who could coach the game at a high level, could support you as a person, could support you as a student, those are some of the skills I brought to my program. "Working with Gayle Blevins also taught me a lot, because I never coached with Hutch. Gayle really taught me the coaching mindset, in terms of strategy of the game, deci‑ sion making. That really developed my coaching skills." Allard became Iowa's top assistant her second season there, and repre‑ sented the school at meetings during the Women's College World Series. There, Yale coach Kathy Arendsen tipped her off about a head coaching opening at Harvard. Allard applied in late May, and Harvard extended an offer in August 1994. She's been there ever since. "It was a tough decision, because I had just recruited hard for Iowa for two seasons, and we were going to have a really, really good team," she noted. "Here was an opportunity to go to Harvard, which had never won an Ivy League title." It has won six now, all under Al‑ lard. She went 28‑14 her first year ever there, finishing second (9‑3) in the Ivy League. Now in her 24th season, she entered 2018 with a 587‑436‑3 record, including a domi‑ nant 281‑107‑1 mark in the league. She's learned plenty along the way, especially about team building rather than talent collecting. "In my early career, I felt like I was putting talent together," she said. "In my later career, I felt like I was build‑ ing teams. That's how I've grown as a coach. It's creating an environment where the students want to get better, where they all support each other. Creating an environment where they're all valued. Creating an en‑ vironment where they learn how to work together, and you guide them in how they support each other and what their roles are. "You guide them in being part of an organization and part of some‑ thing that's bigger than themselves. You spend a lot of time on that part of it, in addition to running technical practices." She also lived in residence for 12 years, in charge of 25 freshmen each season, on top of coaching. She now works as a non‑resident advisor, counseling four freshmen each year. Four seasons at Michigan laid the groundwork, Allard assured. "It was just an amazing opportu‑ nity, one that I felt my responsibility was to make the most of," she said. "Do the best I could possibly do for Michigan athletics, for Michigan soft‑ ball, and that's what I tried to do." ❏ Michigan Accomplishments: Hit .300 or better four straight seasons at Michi- gan, earning all-conference honors each year … Earned All-America honors in 1989 … Pitched for the Wolverines her final two seasons, compiling a record of 29-17 … Earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor as a student-athlete. Professional Accomplishments: Served as an assistant softball coach for two seasons at Iowa, before becoming Harvard's head coach … In her 24th year as Harvard's coach, taking the Crimson to six 30-win seasons, six Ivy League cham- pionships and five NCAA Tournament berths — the program had never done any before hiring Allard. Education: Earned a general studies degree with an emphasis on accounting at Michigan in 1990 … Earned a master's degree in education at Harvard in 1999, and a master's in psychology at Harvard in 2003. Michigan Memory: "I hold Michigan near and dear to my heart," she said. "I had a wonderful, amazing four years. I have lifelong friends. My four years endeared me to the University of Michigan. "The opportunity to put on that Michigan uniform and play and compete for Michigan was one of the greatest experience of my life." Family: Allard has a 15-year-old son, Cooper. The Jenny Allard File Allard began her college career as a third baseman, but also served as a pitcher en route to four All-Big Ten selections and the conference's Player of the Year honor. She was also awarded the school's Big Ten Medal of Honor as its highest-achieving female student-athlete. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS