Athletics department announces new coach

Sara Hayes can see her dreams taking shape.\nAs the new head coach of the softball team, Hayes said she sees IU as a traditionally-excellent university, and she chose to take the position for that reason.\n"I think the new administration in the athletic department is going to turn over very quickly; the whole department across the board should be consistently competitive in the country," she said. "To be a part of that is a dream; it's always been a goal."\nHayes said she realizes there are many steps that need to be taken for the team to find success. \n"As far as the program goes, I think that we need to take steps. We have to develop a positive attitude; that's our first priority," she said. "We have to learn how to win."\nThe IU Athletics Department named Hayes the new coach of the softball team Monday because of her experience and leadership abilities.\n"Our mission is to prepare student-athletes for championship competition," Director of Athletics Michael McNeely said in a prepared statement. "We are fully confident that Sara will provide the outstanding leadership that will be needed to achieve these goals in the sport of softball."\nHayes, former coach at the University of Northern Iowa and assistant coach at DePaul University in Chicago, was named the sixth coach in the IU softball program's history.\nShe said the opportunity to coach in the Big Ten Conference is going to be exciting.\n"I've played preseason schedules that have been tough, both at DePaul and Northern Iowa. I think the difference is going to be that instead of seeing maybe three or four strong teams in the conference -- which we saw in the Missouri Valley (Conference) -- in the Big Ten everybody from top to bottom is going to be extremely strong," Hayes said. "They're going to be some of the top in the country. The athletes in the conference are going to be the top in the country, so I think it's exciting for me to be able to play at that level."\nHayes said this preparation is a great way to become a national championship-caliber team.\n"Once we get to the NCAA, because of that preparation in the Big Ten Conference, we'll be ready to win in the NCAA and not just be there."\nHayes said she will begin this preparation when she arrives in Bloomington in the middle of August and when she meets the team for the first time the second week of September.\n"I haven't met them yet, but I called the team this morning and told them I was really excited about the opportunity, and I hoped they were getting ready to roll," Hayes said.\nThe new coach said she plans to shake things up to find success in the program.\n"We have to put people in some different places on the field to see how the puzzle fits together, to figure what the best lineup is," Hayes said. "I have to learn the kids' strengths and weaknesses. I have to learn how they're motivated, what they're interested in doing for themselves, what their goals are for the program. \n"All those things are hopefully going to be done within the first three weeks of school."\nAs the head coach of the Northern Iowa Panthers, Hayes turned a team with a sub-500 record into a winning group in only two years. During the 2002 season, she lead the team to wins over seventh-ranked Arizona State University, as well as Illinois State University, University of Minnesota -- all very successful programs.\nHayes moved to Northern Illinois after serving as the assistant coach for DePaul. In her five-year stay, the Blue Demons had a 265-97 overall record and appeared in the College World Series in 1999 and 2000, including a Final Four trip in 1999. She was also named part of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's National Coaching Staff of the Year in 1999 and Midwest Staff of the Year in 2000.\nHayes got her start in college softball at another Indiana university, the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. She was a three-time All-Mideast Region honoree and was the team MVP in her junior and senior years. She also helped the Notre Dame team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids during her last two years.\nFormer coach, Diane Stephenson, was released by the athletic department in May after the 2002 season yielded a 13-31-1 record, 0-17 in the Big Ten.