Can Gerry Glasco bring stability to the Texas Tech softball team?

Chance and fate are often confused, as if something in the universe has determined and put together the fates of two somewhat unrelated things.

This also applies to Justus Perry. Last week, Perry made the 26-hour drive from Philadelphia — where she is an assistant coach at Swarthmore College — to Lubbock to join the Hub City Adelitas, the newest member of Women’s Professional Fastpitch.

Perry had been in town less than a week after signing with the Adelitas before the team played its first game in Floydada. To make things even more interesting, life threw her another curveball when she suffered a flat tire on the way to the debut competition.

MORE ABOUT THE RENT: Louisiana’s Gerry Glasco hired as Texas Tech’s new softball coach

It would have been more than understandable if, in all this chaos and preparation, Perry had forgotten to call me back, as we had agreed earlier that day.

But Perry had a story to tell, memories to share about one of the first softball coaches she gravitated towards when making her college decision. Coincidentally, it was Gerry Glasco, who was named head coach of the Texas Tech softball team hours before a nail punctured Perry’s tire.

Perry recalled attending Glasco’s camps when he was associate head coach at Georgia. Together with colleague Adelita Ciara Bryan, she played home run derby with Glasco’s daughter, the late Gerri Ann. Perry almost committed to Georgia because of Glasco, but ended up going to Auburn.

As luck would have it, Glasco ended up at Auburn before Perry’s freshman year, where he served as associate head coach. Their time together was short — Glasco took the head coaching job at Louisiana the following year — but Perry’s memory of him is vivid.

“From the bottom of my heart,” Perry said, “he’s one of my favorite people in softball. He has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. And the crazy thing is he’s a coach, but he coaches what he is like as a person, and you don’t come across that often.”

Perry said she appreciated Glasco’s honesty, how he “coached like a father” and treated her and her teammates “like he loves you in all aspects of your life.” Perhaps most importantly, Perry said, is that what Glasco says is exactly what he means.

“The feeling I had with him,” Perry said, “is something I’ve never been able to experience with any other coach before.”

During his press conference on Thursday, Glasco said he has always been that kind of coach and plans to continue doing so at Texas Tech.

“I think one of my weaknesses as a coach is that I’m too transparent,” Glasco said. “I’ll tell you what I think, especially when I’ve made a mistake, and I’ll tell you when we’re not getting it done, to the point where sometimes I have to be quiet. … Transparency and honesty are the backbone of all great things.”

Those are two qualities the Red Raiders could use.

The last two tenures of Sami Ward and Craig Snider each lasted just two years. Alanna Barraza, who signed on under Adrian Gregory and served the last two terms, told me earlier this year that she wanted to make sure what she was hearing from Snider was legitimate.

“Recruiting face,” as Barraza called it, has gotten the better of many players, coaches who say one thing and do another behind the scenes — the Texas A&M baseball debacle is the latest example of such shenanigans. Barraza felt Snider was here for the long haul, that she could believe in his message and leadership.

Fortunately for Barraza, she had already exhausted her eligibility to play when Snider walked out earlier this month.

Glasco said athletic director Kirby Hocutt made it clear during the search that he wants to hire someone who wants to work at Texas Tech, not someone who already has one foot out the door.

“It’s not just taking the job and starting it,” Glasco said, “but taking the job and finishing it, and I’m committed to that. I’m committed to that.”

More: Texas Tech softball team is looking for a new head coach after firing Craig Snider

Perry’s biggest memory of Glasco’s behavior revolves around his “bubbly, loving charisma,” his love for the sport and his love for “everyone he comes into contact with.” The Texas Tech softball team could use that love right now, and Perry is confident they have just the right man to convey that love.

“I think it’s nothing but greatness that he’s going to bring here,” Perry said. “I’m very excited to follow along now.”

Is it a coincidence that Perry found her summer home in Lubbock the same week a coach she admires is hired?

Or is it fate that Glasco, who spent years hunting quail in neighborhoods like Jayton and Aspermont and who applied for the tech job in 2014, ended up in the Hub City at the same time as Perry?

For the sake of the program, the hope should be that it’s a little bit of both.

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Can Gerry Glasco bring stability to the Texas Tech softball team?

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