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<div class="title">Mike Candrea Drills</div>
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<li><a href="https://jugssports.com/content/Candrea/Raising_Confidence_in_a_Player.pdf" target="_blank">Raising Confidence in a Player</a></li>
<li><a href="https://jugssports.com/content/Candrea/Dealing_with_Pressure-Candrea.pdf" target="_blank">Dealing with Pressure</a></li>
<li><a href="https://jugssports.com/content/Candrea/Organizing%20Your%20Practice%20Sessions.pdf" target="_blank">Organizing Your Practice Sessions</a></li>
<li><a href="https://jugssports.com/content/Candrea/Candrea-Having_Fun_Playing_the_Game.pdf" target="_blank">Having Fun Playing the Game</a></li>
<li><a href="https://jugssports.com/content/Candrea/Off_Center_Batting_Practice-Candrea.pdf" target="_blank">Off Center Batting Practice</a></li>
<li><a href="https://jugssports.com/content/Candrea/Pop_Up_Communication-Candrea.pdf" target="_blank">Pop Up Communication</a></li>
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<div class="coach-biography sr">
<div class="coach-biography-wrapper"><img class="coach-avatar" src="https://cdn7.bigcommerce.com/s-3kwrgfp6rz/content/coach-mike-candrea.png" alt="" />
<div class="title">Mike Candrea, <br />8-Time NCAA National Champion</div>
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<p>Mike Candrea enters his 34th season as the head coach of the University of Arizona softball team in 2019 and under his guidance reaching the pinnacle should once again underscore a record of success almost unparalleled by any program in any sport at any level. </p>
<p><br />The Division I wins leader in NCAA Softball history, Candrea has enjoyed more than three decades of unparalleled success at the helm of the Arizona softball program. Candrea owns a 1,563-404-2 (.794) in 33 seasons at Arizona. Under Candrea, the Wildcats have won eight national championships and appeared in 22 Women's College World Series. He has guided the program to 11 conference championships, including the 2017 Pac-12 title, helping Candrea earn his 12th conference coach of the year. In addition to the 12 Pac- West, -10 or -12 Coach of the Year honors, Candrea has also been named the national coach of the year four times and regional coach of the year and has received six regional coach of the year honors.<br /> <br />Also in 2017, Candrea won his 1,500th career game, becoming the fastest coach in NCAA history, any sport, any level, to win 1,500 games. Only five coaches in any sport have more Division I victories than Candrea.<br /> <br />Entering the 2019 season, Candrea is second in NCAA softball history to Michigan's Carol Hutchins in career wins. Hutchins, who has coached for 34 years at Michigan and spent a year at NCAA Division II Ferris State, has a career record of 1,571-504-5.<br /> <br />In addition to his dominance at the collegiate level, Candrea also spent time internationally with USA Softball. Candrea served as the head coach of Team USA's medal-winning teams in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. The team earned gold in Athens in 2004 and silver in Beijing in 2008.<br /> <br />Candrea is one of the most respected coaches in the nation, with the accomplishments to supplement: eight national titles in a 24-season span, 22 trips to the Women’s College World Series in the last 29 seasons, 1,563 career victories, a mind-boggling career winning percentage of 79%, 51 All-Americans with a staggering 100 citations, four national players of the year and stewardship of Team USA to an Olympic gold medal, to name a few.<br />The aforementioned gold medal came with his stint as the head coach of Team USA in 2004. His second Olympic squad took home the silver in 2008. Softball was then put on a hiatus from the Olympics, but Candrea’s work in the sport’s final two Olympic years prior to being reinstated for 2020 will not soon be forgotten. Under his tutelage in 2004, the team posted a perfect 9-0 record, outscoring its opponents 51-1 on its way to a gold medal in one of the most dominant team performances in any sport in Olympic history. In 2008, the team came just short of winning its fourth consecutive gold medal. <br /> <br />In 2017, Candrea was inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame, adding it to a long list of hall of fames for the legendary coach that includes the NFCA Hall of Fame (1996), Pima County Hall of Fame (1996) and the Central Arizona College Hall of Fame (2009).<br /> <br />Since 1988, UA has won fewer than five postseason games just eight times and has eclipsed the 50-win mark 18 times and won at least 33 games in the other years. No one talks about losing around Arizona softball, but even in lean times the Wildcats did not lose 25 games in any of the 33 seasons under Candrea’s watch. Avoiding a “down” year has been a trademark of Candrea’s program, and one not universally shared even among the game’s elite.<br /> <br />Candrea is not one to back down from a challenge. On a daily basis, he challenges his players, and when it comes to drawing up the schedule of opponents, his philosophy is no different. He builds schedules as tough as any in the country. A recent sampling shows years where Arizona won 30 games against NCAA Tournament-bound squads.<br /> <br />His teams’ victory totals of 67 in 1998, 66 wins in 1995, 65 victories in 2001, 64 victories in 1994 and 61 in 1997 are among the top 10 in the NCAA record books. Including a five-season stint as a junior college coach at Central Arizona (185-69), Candrea has a career record of 1,748-473-2. That computes to a phenomenal winning percent of .787.<br /> <br />That proficiency started at Arizona with the hiring of Candrea prior to the 1986 season, the school’s transition in Pacific West Conference play before the start of Pac-10 ball in 1987. UA finished 27-13-1 that first year, his second “worst” record to date. The following season, the Cats were 42-18 and qualified for their first of a now-NCAA-record 32-straight NCAA postseason appearances.</p>
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