Jessica Allister helped dig Gophers softball out of a hole

Gophers softball coach Jessica Allister, a Texas native, came to Minneapolis in the fall of 2010 as a first-time head coach in a part of the country she knew nothing about.

Naturally, she decided to get a dog.

"I was not ready for a new puppy and a new job," Allister said. "Terrible decision."

Allister downplays the parallel, but consider the following idea.

When Allister took over — only days before classes started in August — the Gophers were coming off a 16-37 season.

During Allister's first weekend as coach, the Gophers went 0-4.

On the plane home, she couldn't help but think, "What have I got myself into?"

Leland's behavior was fine by puppy standards, and Allister's team had potential, but neither situation came with a clear solution. Training Leland was hard because she wasn't easily bribed with treats. Allister said the crux of her job is the fact each player responds differently. There's not one right way to coach.

"I didn't realize how underqualified I was," Allister said. "But you just work and work and work, and try to get a little bit better, and work some more."

In her second weekend, the Gophers went 3-2. Allister said they celebrated as if they won the Women's College World Series.

Six years later, the Gophers enter the home opener on Friday with a No. 22 national ranking and 24-10 record. A World Series appearance has become less of a dream and more of a tangible goal.

Allister got her program to this point through the philosophy of getting 1 percent better every day. It's a practical, patient solution.

Former Cardinal coach John Rittman was watching a Texas travel team, there to recruit a pitcher named Cat Osterman, when he noticed Allister. Osterman went on to become a Texas Longhorns legend, but Rittman still got a good one.

"Every game, I kept noticing the catcher," Rittman said. "I took notice of first and foremost her athletic ability, but also her leadership skills. Whenever you go recruiting you can just tell when there's something special about a kid."

Allister went to Stanford, helped the Cardinal to two World Series and was an All-America as a senior.

When she graduated after the 2004 season, she got a coaching job at Georgia. Two years later, right when Rittman had an opening on his staff, Allister was his first call.

"When she came back and I saw her interactions with players and her ability to recruit, I knew that she was destined to be a head coach," Rittman said.

Allister's initial response was blunt. "Coach, you have lost your mind. I'm not moving to Minnesota."

Rittman's response: "You would love it."

So that's how Allister got to Minnesota, where she was initially overwhelmed, but also where her clean, organized desk now exudes focus, where the only office decoration that stands out is that Big Ten tournament championship trophy she worked so hard to get.

"I tell every recruit who comes into my office I believe in having fun," Allister said. "But my version is working as hard as you possibly can to be as good as you possibly can be."

The Gophers won 31 games in Allister's first season, roughly doubling the team's total from 2010, but it was still a year full of growing pains. The second season, despite injuries and a young roster, the Gophers again won 31 games.

"Then knowing that Coach Allister is awesome — she was an All-America catcher and realizing how much I could learn from her — I was like, 'All right, I want to come to this school, I need to find a way to get here,' " LeMay said.

Around that time, Allister also discovered Sara Groenewegen, an under-the-radar Canadian prospect. Groenewegen said she wasn't familiar with Minnesota before Allister called, but she was initially drawn to Allister's passionate style and a simple yet huge promise.

"She was competitive, and she wants to win as much as I want to win," Groenewegen said. "She just said, 'We're going to win a Big Ten championship. In your four years here, you're going to win a Big Ten championship.' "

Both players became Gophers, only two of many key recruits who helped build the program.

"Just seeing how big of an impact Coach Allister made her first season and seeing how she literally transformed the program, I wanted to be a part of that," Groenewegen said.

Groenewegen has become an All-America pitcher and the driving force behind the Gophers' success. LeMay is a power-hitting catcher and a diligent team leader.

"It means everything," LeMay said. "I remember in sixth grade I would watch this team and they had like three wins in the Big Ten. I thought of how awesome it would be to be part of a program that could compete for a Big Ten championship every single year."

Allister is up front about her natural desire to work and win no matter what, but she's not big on recognition. She is quick to credit assistant coaches Piper Ritter and Jessica Merchant, who she said have stayed on board despite chances to go elsewhere.

"We joke a lot about the first years, how far we've come," Ritter said. "That's the bond between all three of us that keeps us in it."

There are still places the Gophers want to go — specifically, the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. But Allister's softball program has become a rock.

Oh, yeah. About the dog.