Gators Seek To Go Beyond 'The Edge' in 2018

Tim Walton is urging the Gators to push past their comfort zones and reach elite status in 2018. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communication)

Gators Seek To Go Beyond 'The Edge' in 2018

Tuesday, February 6, 2018 | Softball

The Florida softball team opens the season on Friday in Tampa against Illinois State.

By: Ethan Hughes, FloridaGators.com correspondent

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – There is a certain quality that separates good teams from elite teams.

Some call this quality the intangible, the X-factor or the it factor.

The No. 2-ranked Florida Gators call it "The Edge," and they seek to find it as the 2018 softball season opens Friday. Florida faces Illinois State at the USF-DeMarini Tournament in Tampa.

"Every player gets to a point where they get to the edge and are faced with making a decision,'' Gators coach Tim Walton said. "Are you afraid of moving forward? Are you afraid of the consequences? Are you afraid of failure? Or are you comfortable being right where you are with two feet on the ground at the edge?

"When you get to the edge, do you want to take a chance or are you afraid of the unknown of what lies ahead? It only takes one time to accomplish something you didn't think you could do to continue on and accomplish things that you were afraid to reach for."

The Gators have adopted "The Edge" as their motto for the season. Observers will see the motto on shirts, wristbands and on social media as a hashtag.

"The Edge" has a rather interesting origin.

"This all started last year [when] Sophia Reynoso got a hamster," senior first baseman Kayli Kvistad said. "We named it Sis 'The Edge' Reynoso, and this year it kind of stuck."

Walton has a more philosophical explanation.

"I started comparing the teams at the College World Series, the teams that didn't make the College World Series, the teams that we had to go through to get to the College World Series," he said. "You talk about elite – just because someone wins doesn't necessarily mean that they're elite, just as if someone loses doesn't mean they're not elite – and I started to think about that mentality. We talked about that being the edge."

The Gators are accustomed to having an edge. They won back-to-back national titles in 2014-15 and made their eighth trip to the CWS in program history in 2017.

The plan is to end the season again in Oklahoma City, with help from "The Edge," of course.

50189 — Gators pitcher Kelly Barnhill, in search for "The Edge," added more swimming workouts to her offseason routine. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

"'The Edge' is the edge between good and great," junior pitcher Kelly Barnhill said. "It's taking that step and going further so that you can be the best you can be. You're doing everything you can to get that one percent better personally that'll help the team."

What the motto entails means different things to different players.

"I do extra swim workouts to help," Barnhill said. "Other girls do extra cardio, do extra lifting, push sleds. Sometimes, it's a mental thing, and we meet with a sports psychologist, Spencer Woods, and he helps them get the edge mentally."

Walton has been impressed so far with the returns. Entering his 13th season at UF, Walton sees a team that has taken the motto to heart.

"I've really loved our players approach to their work," he said. "They really have bought into trying to gain an edge in something that they do."

Walton cautions, however, not to expect a drastic difference in his team's performance just because they have a slogan.

Slogans don't win games.

"Just because we made a T-shirt, just because we made a wristband, doesn't necessarily mean you're going to perform at a higher level," he said. "I'm just asking for one percent. If I can get one percent better for most of my players, that's a huge jump."

"The Edge" transcends wins and losses. It's a process-oriented approach.

"It doesn't come down to winning or losing," Walton said. "It comes down to maximizing your performance."

The idea is if the Gators hold themselves to a high standard and put in the extra work, things they can directly control, they will put themselves in position to experience success.

"It inspired me to never take a pitch off and actually live in the moment," Kvistad said. "Everyone that you play is going to be good, and a lot of times they're going to be great. The difference between good and elite is subtle, but it's the difference-making for a championship."

That's a long way down the road, and Walton's not going there yet.

"We have not once talked about goals," he said. "The season is to be one percent better today. We're going to figure out how to be one percent better tomorrow. Don't worry about the ending. Let's just focus on the day. We're not good enough to worry about the end of the season yet."

In the meantime, Walton's Gators will focus on going the extra mile, doing a little more than they did previously and improving individually by one percent.

Turn "The Edge" into reality.