Jan. 28, 2013
Fans can submit questions they’d like answered via Twitter to @GaTechMarketing or by email to GTMarketing@athletics.gatech.edu.
The Morning Perk: After about three weeks of practice, what are you seeing from the team and have any players surprised you?
Coach Perkins: We have been very strong offensively. Our hitters and slappers have done a good job of executing. We have also had some players step up in a leadership role, which is nice to see. It’s tough to just focus on one or two players because everybody has been doing such a great job.
TMP: Who is the funniest girl on the team? The most shy? And the best singer?
CP: The players get to see a totally different side that the coaches typically see, but from my perspective, this is what I think. To me [Caitlyn] Coffey is the funniest. We kind of have a running joke going on, so I look forward to her responses. Although Hayley [Downs] is a close second because I always seem to catch her in the middle of some dance moves while hitting.
We don’t really have shy people on this team. Our team likes to have a ton of fun. Best singer to me would be Rud [Alysha Rudnik]. I have heard her sing the National Anthem a couple times and she writes and sings her own songs. She even dedicated a song to me at our fall outing a couple years ago and every time I hear that song I remember that day 🙂 She is very talented!
TMP: What made you decide to go into coaching and did you have other career goals previously?
CP: Yes, I actually majored in biology. I wanted to be a physical therapist. I was a student assistant in my fifth year and really liked it. I ended up with a coaching opportunity at Southern Mississippi and fell in love with coaching and it took off from there. Had I known I would go into coaching I could have chosen an easier route, but it’s still fun to be able to name plants or animals out there or answer chemistry questions watching Jeopardy. Plus, I was 10-for-10 on a quiz about bones on a trivia quiz last week. 🙂
TMP: You’ve had three ACC titles, but what you say is your proudest accomplishment at Tech?
CP: The best part is seeing my players graduate and come back to visit. Seeing those alumni go on to have rewarding careers, keeping up with those relationships, the players that gave so much for Tech and our program. I love getting a random text from them or sending them one about something that reminded me of them. You know you have been here a while when you start getting invitations to their weddings. We have had great people come through our program.
