Kyla Holas Chat Wrap

May 30, 2002

LarryHouston24: Kyla,

I went to watch your team play this year and was impressed.WE are glad to have you at UH. Can you please highlight a few of your incoming recruits and where they are from. Best to you and the program.By the way the new facility is awesome.

Kyla Holas: Thanks Larry. Being a bonus to this community is one of our goals. This next year we have signed three athletes. Brooke Johnson, OF from Huntsville, AL who will look to replace Riane Netardus our left fielder and leadoff hitter. Brandi Clark, IF from Elkins HS who are in the state championships this weekend and Crystal Briscoe, P from Buffalo, TX. We will have softball tryouts in the fall and are looking at some transfer athletes as we speak. We look forward to seeing you in the stands next year.

Captain Cougar, Sugar Land: Nice job this year, Coach! We can see that you are laying a solid foundation for the coming seasons. Coach, how much more improved will the team be next year? and also, how are we looking on the recruiting front?

Thanks!!

Kyla Holas: Hi Captain. Appreciate you noticing the hard work that was put in by everyone to make the second year better and closer to our goals. We look for next year to be our year. We will have the majority of our team as upperclassmen and that leadership and experience is exactly what we need. Recruiting is better. People are starting to know who Houston is. Thanks.

HOUSTON: PITCHING IS THE NAME OF THE GAME. ARE YOU ABLE TO RECRUIT ANY TOP NOTCH PITCHERS FOR THIS COMING SEASON ? AND WHO ARE YOUR LATEST RECRUITS.

Kyla Holas: Hi Maddog. You are correct. The mound is the difference between top 25 and everybody else. Recruiting that spot and improving our current staff is our number one priority for next year. We are going after some top pitchers on market and hope they make Houston their choice come November. Thanks.

maddog, Houston, TX.: Great job Coach, your team made great progress this season in your 2nd year. Where do we stand according to your original goals and where do we go from here?

Kyla Holas: Thanks again Maddog. Our goals are moving in the right direction. Of course I would like to speed things up, but I am banking on the statement that good things come in time. From here I think we need to improve our pitching and defense. We lead the conference or were second in every offensive category, but not close in pitching and defense. If we can improve those aspects of our game I think we can jump forward signifigantly next year. Check us out in February.

Amy (Houston): "Do you think that your recruiting class for next year will positively effect the team as much as last years freshman class did?

Kyla Holas: Hi Amy. Our goals as a staff are to signifigantly improve our team each recruiting class. If we can do that everyone improves, including the current players. I believe you can expect big things from the incoming freshman once they have made the adjustments just like our past ones have. Thanks.

Sara (Houston): Looking back on this year, What one thing would you change or work on improving with the team?

Kyla Holas: Hi Sara. What a question. Hind sight is such a good and bad thing. Looking back now, we would have spent more time with the defensive side of the game and recruited more depth for the middle infield. Mid-way through February we had to pull Kristen in from the outfield to take over SS without much practice. She really stepped it up for us and earned Freshman of the Year for the CUSA, but I would have liked to prepared her more and the leftside. Thanks.

Bill (Sugar Land, TX): Do you see the Cougar softball team being a Top 10 team in the near future?

Kyla Holas: Hi Bill. That has been my goal from the beginning. With the talent in the Houston area there is no reason why Houston can not be there on Memorial Day beating out UCLA. We have got to make the strides on the field to get the players that keep leaving Houston for top programs. Once that happens, there is no limit to our success. Thanks.

Chris T. (Charlotte): After graduating your two lead-off batters, do you think that you will transform any of your players to slappers or are any freshman going to fill that spot?

Kyla Holas: Hi Chris. We are making that evaluation as we speak. We look for Brooke Johnson our incoming freshman from Huntsville, AL to fill the leadoff spot and feel that Kim Nesloney did a great job in the two hole at the end of the year. The fall will be our experiement time. Only February will tell.

Candice (Katy, TX): With such a young program at UH, when it comes to recruiting, how do you sell potential student-athletes on attending Houston?

Kyla Holas: Hi Candice. Great question. Our biggest sell is the opportunity to have a college experience without going miles away. Most of our athletes get to have their family in the stands every home game and get to have Mom do laundry and cook on the weekends. What more could you ask for. The next point is our facilties. Though the field still has work to be done, we have a tremendous venue with a gorgeous night time view. Last would be our program itself. We have great student-athletes that work very hard to reach their goals while being good people. All of those things, mixed in with the oppotunity to set the records instead of chase them make Houston a very appealing place. Thanks and pass the word around.

Marla (League City, TX): First of all, Coach, congratulations on a successful second season! You and your staff have built a solid program at UH that the city is proud of, and with two years experience under their belts, this young Cougar squad seems poised to take the next step. Where do you see your program and ultimately the team within the next three years?

Kyla Holas: Thanks Marla. That is the question we work on everyday, in everything we do. The future, and not just next year, is were we spend our time recruiting and looking to. I look to see this program at the top of CUSA, in the top 25 and in the final game of regionals and ultimately the world series. I expect by the time this first class of freshman hit their senior year that we will be making headlines. We have a very close and hard working team. With the right breaks and the right peaks in performance, the next three years could be huge for Houston. Keep your eyes open, we are coming and you don't want to miss it.

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