MU softball coach Ehren Earleywine says he’s met with psychologist

Missouri softball coach Ehren Earleywine has been seeing a psychologist since early April, shortly after an investigation into his conduct by the university commenced.

“I’m getting help,” he said during a news conference Thursday at University Field in Columbia. The audio of Earleywine’s conversation was posted by PowerMizzou.com.

Earleywine said he started meeting with Greg Holliday, a psychologist employed by the Mizzou athletic department whom he calls “Doc,” within the last two months, about why some found his conduct abrasive and what needed to change.

“He’s a great guy, and he’s helping me look at things through a different lens — maybe some vocabulary switches — and I think it’s going to be helpful …” Earleywine said. “He’s been able to break through in a lot of different ways with me. He’s a great mentor.”

Earleywine, who is being investigated by the athletic department and Missouri’s Title IX Office for alleged verbal abuse of players, said he wasn’t required to meet with Holliday by the Tigers’ athletic administration.

“That was all me,” Earleywine said. “I’m sure that they’re appreciative of it. What was the text I got from Tim Hickman? Very proactive was the text he sent me. My hope moving forward is I want to have Doc with our team on the road, in the dugout, at meetings — just so he can coach me on the spot.”

Hickman, Mizzou’s executive associate athletic director, oversees softball among other duties.

Earleywine said Holliday has accompanied the Tigers on a couple trips, offering pointers after his interaction with players about ways to soften his sometimes gruff message.

“That immediate feedback is the best coaching that I’ve ever received,” Earleywine said.

He said language is the area Holliday has zeroed in on the most.

“Growing up in my life, that’s what the coaches around me did, so a lot of those sound bites are sound bites that have been playing in my head since I was a boy …” Earleywine said. “Obviously, there are a lot of coaches that use foul language, but I think there’s also crossing the line and I’m sure I’ve done that a few times. I think that’s the biggie is making sure I draw that line and I stay behind it.”

That’s a departure from May 8 when Earleywine said he wasn’t “ashamed of anything that I’ve done.” He is known for a fiery, unfiltered and hyper-competitive nature that occasionally upsets some in the softball community.

It’s unclear if the willingness to admit publicly that he’s made missteps along with his efforts to address them will be enough to save his job, but Earleywine, a Jefferson City native, has made it clear that being the Mizzou softball coach is his dream job.

“Competition brings out the most emotion in anybody, so you’re trying to fight back stuff you’re typically used to fighting back — that level of emotion,” Earleywine said. “Is it possible? Absolutely, and it will happen, because that’s how bad I want my job here.”

No. 15 seed Missouri, which won its eighth regional title last weekend, plays at No. 2 seed Michigan in a best-of-three super regional Saturday and Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“I know there are things I can do better as a coach,” said Earleywine, who is 452-151 with the Tigers, including an NCAA Tournament appearance in all 10 seasons. “I know that, and I totally understand the administration’s need to investigate certain accusations. If they are willing to keep me around, I’m glad to work on the things that were brought up in the investigation. Like I said, I’m fully admitting the fact that, yeah, there are things I can do better. I just hope they will give me another chance.”

Earleywine said, in fact, he’s already changing.

“The last, I’d say at least five weeks, I haven’t used any inappropriate language or anything like that,” Earleywine said. “For me, it’s just a sign of intensity, but I think it scares the girls sometimes and it may be inappropriate as well.”

Missouri’s players announced a protest May 7 centered on the investigation of Earleywine. That protest was renewed May 12 after a first-round loss in the Southeastern Conference Softball Tournament.

One day later, Earleywine sent a text to several media outlets, including The Star, asking his players to end the protest, which the team did before last weekend’s regional tournament in Columbia.

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 5:21 PM with the headline "MU softball coach Ehren Earleywine says he’s met with psychologist."