The RoundHouse | 2/5/2019 12:38:00 PM

 
Wylie Glover spoke up early during the book discussion, even though she is a sophomore transfer who has yet to play a softball game for the Shockers.
 
Hearing her voice and her story is part of the point of coach Kristi Bredbenner leading a discussion about "The Carpenter" by Jon Gordon. The Shockers read the 134-page book of success principles and gathered in their locker room to talk about what they learned and how the lessons in the book apply to their team.
 
 Glover, an outfielder from Valley Center, spoke about passages in which the carpenter detailed the importance of caring about "the little things that lead to big success." In the book, the carpenter stresses using the best materials and focusing on each aspect and each moment to create something lasting.
 
"We care about all the little things that lead to big success," Glover read. "When we care, we build things that others care about."
 
The Shockers start the season on Friday at the Cougar Classic in Charleston, S.C. Last season, the Shockers went 32-23 and won two games in the NCAA regional in Fayetteville, Ark., the program's best post-season success. The 2018 Shockers hit 59 home runs and 69 doubles (both American Athletic Conference-leading totals) and third baseman Mackenzie Wright won Player of the Year honors. That team also, in the view of senior Asea Webber, won with strong relationships.
 
The 2019 Shockers are picked second in the American and Webber said lessons from the book can help meet those expectations.
 
"If you invest in relationships, success will come," Webber said. "Last year was a great example of that because I felt like, team-wise, we had such good chemistry and it showed on the field. The books show multiple examples of how you can build off of other people's relationships."
 
The book's lessons are best summarized by the words "love, serve, care."
 
"We have a lot of new people, so we have to show them our love, we have to show we care for them and we're here to serve them," Webber said. 
 
Bredbenner often assigns a reading project before the season. The Shockers discussed Gordon's "The Hard Hat: 21 Ways to be a Great Teammate" before the 2016 season and she handed out yellow hard hats. Before the 2017 season, the Shockers researched sports dynasties such as the New York Yankees and UConn women's basketball and discussed their characteristics.
 
She wants the lessons from "The Carpenter" to help the Shockers smooth out their season-to-season ups and downs. The Shockers won Missouri Valley Conference titles in 2014 and 2016 and followed with less-satisfying seasons. 
 
"I wanted to build on the success of last year," she said. "Our biggest challenge is - what do we need to do this year to keep building, instead of taking a step back? Odd years, we've struggled. Even years, we've had success. To me, it was being able to build on that success immediately."
 
The Shockers returned to "love, serve, care" several times during the discussion. They talked about accepting criticism after a bad day in practice. They talked about accepting differences in personality among teammates. They talked about learning how to motivate a teammate.
 
"It's nice to know what this team is about, what (Bredbenner) values and clearly team chemistry, making sure all of us girls are not just teammates, but friends, it's super-important and it makes me feel comfortable being here," Glover said. "To speak and let everyone know who much I value this team . . . that showed in the locker room. That's how I felt. Winning is the goal, but win or lose, I will do anything for them and I know they would do anything for me, no questions asked."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.