Patrick Murphy is competitive.

Some coaches might use a flight delay to look at game tape or hold a team meeting. In 2012, Murphy didn’t.

When the Alabama softball team was stuck in an airport in Kentucky, Murphy spent that time playing four square with the team. Much of the game was spent diving to keep the ball in play.

“It was his finest moment, but he’s that competitive,” said Jennifer Fenton, a member of the 2012 WCWS National Championship team. “He wants to win, but he does it the right way, which is awesome.”

(See also “Murphy: Ultimate goal is national title“)

Murphy pays attention to details, like having his team hand-deliver tickets to the season ticket holders.

“I think the fans honestly feel a part of this tradition and this program because he makes an effort to interact with them, makes an effort to make them feel a part of what softball is here, so he’s definitely done a great job of creating this for sure,” said Cassie Reilly-Boccia, a member of the 2012 WCWS National Championship team.

Chad Haynie has worked more than 275 wins and 300 games with WVUA-FM as a student assistant in sports information and currently with Crimson Tide Sports Network. He’s seen the highs and lows of Alabama softball. One thing he has observed is Murphy’s success.

“I think he surrounds himself with good people, being character student-athletes,” Haynie said. “He won’t bring in someone, even if they’re the greatest player in the country, if they’re not of high character and could be a cancer in the clubhouse.”

Murphy’s dedication to the team itself is something the players, current and past, said they appreciate about the team.

“He recruits the type of players that not only can play, but they’re great people, and they’re going to make a good team,” senior Kaila Hunt said. “And that’s what it’s all about. He recruits people who can be a team, and it’s a great thing for him. I mean, he’s a great coach, so he deserves all of it.”

Three-time All-American Kayla Braud still remembers her first meeting as a freshman. High school was very much focused on her, where she was going to college and what she needed to do to get there, but that changed when she came to Alabama.

“The first thing he said, ‘The sooner you realize it’s not all about you, the better off you’ll be.’ I think that really sets the tone for your career at Alabama, and then he always, always talks about being a servant leader, and he embodies that for all of us,” Braud said. “It’s not like, what can I do for myself today; it’s what can I do for others.”

Murphy, though, isn’t done winning yet. With 800 wins under his belt at Alabama and an NFCA Hall of Fame induction, Murphy is just getting started. At Alabama, Murphy is 802-216 (.788) and 830-236 (.779) for his career. He’s coached at Alabama since 1997 and has been head coach since 1999.

“I just think it was just a lot of hard work and effort by a lot of people, players throughout the years. You know, 16 years, it’s a lot of hard work by a lot of people – support staff, managers, trainers, everybody involved with our program from the top down. It’s just been a really good labor of love for all those years,” Murphy said.

Murphy received his induction into the NFCA Hall of Fame on Dec. 6, 2013. In his time as head coach at Alabama, the Crimson Tide has made 15 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, including the 2012 national championship.

(See also “Patrick Murphy selected for induction into NFCA Hall of Fame“)

“Well, it’s an honor to be along for the ride for it, and he’s a Hall of Famer before he even gets to 1,000 wins, so I think that tells you how much he’s meant to the sport of softball that he’s inducted into the Hall of Fame before really a milestone that kind of gets you there,” Haynie said. “And just really a great guy that’s made a great impact on a lot of people’s lives, his players and I think everyone who’s worked with him too – I’d put myself in that. Deserves all the wins that he gets and hope to be around for some more of them.”

Since Murphy has been at Alabama, the team has won four regular-season SEC titles, four SEC tournament titles and eight Women’s College World Series berths.

“He’s on his way, and he’s just getting started, too, so I think that first national championship under his belt, bunch of SECs, the flood gates are probably about to open I think for Alabama softball in the coming years,” Reilly-Boccia said. “They know how to do it, know what it takes to get there, and it’s just going to be tacking on one after another after that.”

The motto in 2012 was “Finish It,” and the team did, winning the national championship in three games over the University of Oklahoma. As of now, Murphy hasn’t finished winning.

“He always says, ‘We’re not done. We’re reloading. We’re going to continue,’” Fenton said. “Our whole theme for Alabama softball is ‘Tradition never graduates,’ and it truly doesn’t, because he brings in new kids that just reload the whole system, and they keep moving on. He’s definitely not satisfied with one national championship. He is not complacent. He wants it every year, and … his goal is just to bring out the best in each athlete that he can.”

It’s not a surprise to his players that Murphy has accomplished what he has at Alabama.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling, because you are so happy for him that he has accomplished that, but then at the same time, you’re like, ‘Well, of course he accomplished it,’” Fenton said. “He’s just so good at what he does in all aspects of the game, in all aspects of how he handles others and how classy he is. It’s a remarkable milestone for him, but at the same time, I’m like, ‘Of course, he did that,’ because he’s that good at what he does.”

(See also “Outfielder Kayla Braud sets record, leaves legacy“)