If Florida State softball coach Lonni Alameda is in need of a pitching coach in the near future, she might not have to look far.
The No.4 Seminoles (54-6-1) were about to start a recent practice when a visitor donning blue jeans, a garnet shirt and glove showed up. It was FSU President John Thrasher.
For about an hour, the 14th president in the university's history shagged balls in the outfield and got a chance to work with Seminoles star pitcher Jessica Burroughs.
"I taught her how to throw a knuckleball," Thrasher said, when asked about the impromptu session. "Ask her sometime. Ask her if I didn't teach her how to throw a knuckleball. Yeah, I did."
Although his duties as president keep him busy, if there's a big game featuring one of Florida State's athletics programs, there's a good chance he's going to be there.
Thrasher is a fixture at football games and will travel on the road. After last season's dramatic 20-19 victory against Miami at Hard Rock Stadium, Thrasher sat in on Jimbo Fisher's postgame press conference and hung on every word.
He also usually makes his way down to the sideline to watch the final minutes and often visits the postgame locker room.
Thrasher's presence at football games is only part of it. He'll also go to baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball and women's soccer games to name a few. Before FSU's 73-68 men's basketball win over Louisville at the Tucker Center, he even led the Seminole Sound pep band in the school fight song.
"I'm a big sports fan, but I mainly go to support our student-athletes," said Thrasher, who has his undergraduate and law degrees from FSU. "I think they are incredible young people, and I want them to know we're behind them."
Thrasher said football is a little different than the rest because he'll watch the games but also meet with boosters and other supporters of the program. Thrasher said attending other sports, like softball, allow him to be a bit more relaxed.
The 73-year-old and his wife, Jean, spent this past weekend at JoAnne Graf Field watching the softball team sweep all three games in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. The Thrashers, who sat behind home plate, watched the games with Seminoles athletic director Stan Wilcox and his wife, Ramona.
"My wife and I both are enjoying the opportunity," Thrasher said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime. It's the best job I've ever had and the last job I'll ever have, so we're trying to take advantage of it."
Alameda, who has had coaching stops at Stanford and UNLV, said it's rare to see a university president as active as Thrasher.
She said Thrasher and his wife often will be near the dugout giving players high-fives before the last out is even recorded.
"They're really proud, but they're also very present," said Alameda, who is in her ninth season at FSU. "It's to let you know that, 'Hey. I'm one of you. I'm a Seminole, and I'm here to do the best for the university and cheer you on."
So, enough about Thrasher the fan. What about Thrasher the pitcher? Is his knuckleball that good?
"It's that good, and he has moxie behind it," Alameda said. "It's pretty good. People gotta come out and see it!"
Burroughs, who is a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year, said it all started when Thrasher came out to batting practice and started shagging fly balls.
"He starts catching it, and we're like, 'Whoa, he's got it still," Burroughs said. "Next thing I know, we start doing long toss together. He's pitching underhand and throwing strikes. It was crazy."
Burroughs said she and Thrasher went to the bullpen and actually began working on the knuckleball.
She admitted to throwing the pitch once during her complete-game one-hitter in FSU's 3-0 win against Princeton last week.
"It could have been him, it could have been practicing it with him," Burroughs said. "But somehow, I threw a really nasty one in that game and got a strikeout on that. It was cool to see that he could throw one."
Here's another question. Where did Thrasher learn how to throw a knuckleball?
Thrasher said during his childhood, fast-pitch softball was a popular sport. He learned quite a bit about the game while growing up on the west side of Jacksonville. Thrasher also played softball while he was an officer in the Army during the late 1960s.
"I think the president coming [to softball practice] is just the way it is at Florida State: Everyone is a family and everyone loves each other," Burroughs said. "When I first got here, I probably wouldn't have thought [to see Thrasher at practice] but with it being my fifth year here, I was totally not surprised because of the atmosphere that we have."
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