Gopher Baseball Coach Optimistic As Big Ten Season Begins

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Gopher baseball team is opening its Big Ten season this weekend.

Coach John Anderson says he's more optimistic about this team's chances to compete for a title than he's been in a while.

"You're always optimistic, but I think this team, just because of the culture they've built. They have talent," Anderson said. "There's enough talent here to have a winning team, a season and contend for a Big Ten championship, but more importantly, if they can continue to grow their culture and maintain the culture they created......then yeah, this is will be a special team."

The culture that Anderson speaks so highly of was not always this way.

"This team has really grown closer and closer since we started last fall. I think they all returned with the idea that they wanted to create a different culture than maybe they experienced the year before," Anderson said.

Last year, the Gophers had their first losing season since 2008 -- only their second in Anderson's 34 years as head coach.

"I experienced some things last year as a coach that I saw within our culture I didn't like," Anderson said. "Our world today in athletics has become too much about 'me' rather than 'we', especially in team sports. We've created showcases and traveling teams, and there's a lot of entitlement today in athletics.

"And the discussion was really about, which one are we going to be here? Are we going to be about just myself and my own experience, or are we go be about the team?

"And the team bought in. I think at first, they were surprised, they weren't sure where this was going. But I think after a while, we really started to talk about it, and start to develop and grow our culture and talk about leadership.

"And that really has grown and grown, and they've created an amazing culture here right now, I've been impressed, very determined group...it's been fun to watch."