Initial segement of a bi-weekly blog from the voice of Samford softball play-by-play announcer James Hardy. 
 
It's been 278 days since Samford closed the softball season in the SoCon Softball Tournament, but in a few days, Head Coach Mandy Burford's squad sets sail on a new chapter of Samford softball that is the 2016 season.
 
Over the course of Burford's four seasons as the Samford head coach, the softball program has transformed from the bottom tier of the SoCon to near the top of the SoCon. While the 2015 season saw Samford achieve their highest ever finish in the SoCon regular season standings, the 2016 season has the opportunity to put the program toward another turning point, achieving a championship.
 
When you look at the most successful programs in any sport, sustaining success not only involves recruiting great players, it involves players buying into a system that allows them to develop as a team and as individuals.
 
As an example, when you look at the last decade of football at the University of Alabama under Nick Saban, success inside the program isn't judged solely on wins and losses but on a system commonly known as "The Process". It's a system where success comes through improvement, development and being a relentless competitor.
 
For Samford softball, the theme for 2016 is about going "Over A Cliff". While the team strives to win the SoCon and reach an NCAA regional, for that success to last, it's about providing a system where players and coaches can show resilience through adversity and become better competitors each day.
 
By the way, be sure to check out our 3-part "Over A Cliff" YouTube series produced by B.J. Millican. It gives a succinct explanation about the team's goals and what the vision of "Over A Cliff" entails.
 
Part of testing the competitive spirit of this year's team involves facing one of the most ambitious schedules in program history. Twelve teams that made an NCAA regional including six teams that won conference tournaments appear on the 2016 schedule including No.4 Auburn, Tennessee Tech, St. John's, Chattanooga, Central Arkansas and No.25 South Alabama. Other notable teams on the schedule include No.5 Alabama, No.13 Arizona, No.11 Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas.
 
In talking to Mandy Burford before one of the team's recent scrimmages, the impression I got from her was that if you were going to schedule aggressively, this was the year to do it.
 
Before we go, congratulations go out to eight Samford players named to a preseason All-SoCon team.
Mollie Hanson, Caitlin Bice, Megan Dowdy and Caroline Wilder all made the first team while Abby Sweeney, Abbie Miranda, Callie Brister and Shelby Maze received second team honors.
 
In the next "In the Circle", we'll dive into the opening series of the season at the Sand Dollar Classic on the Alabama Gulf Coast.