If the UCLA softball team knows one thing about its third base coach, it’s that he has a sweet tooth.
“He loves his sweets,” said freshman shortstop Delaney Spaulding.
Inside assistant coach Kirk Walker’s pockets, almost at all times, are a few pieces of candy. Players took notice of this early in the season, and asked if he would be willing to share some of his sweets.
“(Coach Walker) never used to share with us,” Spaulding said. “And we always used to get on him, like, ‘Coach, can we have candy?’”
Walker’s reasoning for denying his players access to the candy was understandable. After all, candy is not the optimal nutrition source for athletes.
“We’ll ask for (candy) and he’ll be like, ‘No, I can’t, we’re fueling to win,'” said junior catcher Stephany LaRosa.
But on May 3, during the second game of the Stanford series, Walker’s stance changed. He wanted to find a way to loosen up his players, who had suffered a tough loss against the Cardinal the night before.
“The night before was the game we lost against Stanford, but we had that really dramatic seventh inning,” Walker said. “It was scoreless in this game at this point and (I) just felt like it would be fun to kind of challenge them a little bit, loosen it up and get them to get motivated.”
In light of the players’ desire to have some of his candies, Walker came up with the idea of using the candy as a motivational tool.
Walker’s challenge was: The first player to hit a home run would be the first to receive a piece of candy.
UCLA quickly cashed in on Walker’s offer. Junior pitcher Ally Carda blasted a three-run home run in the second inning, receiving candy from Walker as she rounded third base, and UCLA went on to win the game 9-0.
Since then, Walker has kept the candy challenge alive, and has a lighter pocket as a result. The Bruins hit another home run in the final game of the Stanford series. Then, they hit six more home runs in last weekend’s series against Arizona State, with Spaulding hitting one in Saturday’s game.
“You’re relieved when you hit a home run, you feel good about yourself,” Spaulding said. “Once you round that corner and you see coach Kirk with a big smile on his face, and he tosses up a candy, I mean that’s something that’s different, and you get a little treat to let you know that you worked hard for it.”
Now, Walker will have to pack his pockets for the postseason, as No. 2 UCLA hosts the regional round of the NCAA tournament at Easton Stadium on Friday.