On Wednesday August 3, 2016 right around lunch time, the softball world received the best news. For those of you who haven’t heard, our sport has officially been reinstated and added to the lineup for the 2020 Summer Olympic games in Tokyo, Japan.
When I was a young softball player, my dream was to always represent my country in red, white, and blue and compete for an Olympic Gold medal. As farfetched as that may have seemed at the time, in my mind it was going to happen, and I told everyone. Every four years I planted myself in front of the TV watching elite athletes around the world compete and achieve their dreams. Softball was my favorite sport to watch in the Olympic games, even if it meant I had to record the televised games at 3am CT and watch them in the morning when I woke up.
The fall of 2000 is right around the time when I started getting into pitching. The summer Olympics that year were held in Sydney, Australia and Team USA Softball took home the Gold. It was through the television that summer that I was introduced to a fiery competitive pitcher who I have idolized since and who I still look up to today, Lisa Fernandez. After watching Lisa Fernandez pitch in the Olympic games, I knew I wanted to be just like her when I got older. Her commanding presence on the mound, the leadership skills she exhibited vocally and through her actions, her obvious passion for the game, and not to mention she could also hit the crap out of the ball, were just a few of the many reasons why I chose her to look up to.
Lisa Fernandez was my first softball pitching idol. In the two Olympic games following 2000, I found myself looking up to Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman, and Monica Abbott. Since joining the Pro League two summers ago, I have had the chance to not only meet all of my idols, but I have also shared the mound with, played against, and have even been teammates with one of them. My favorite memory as a Bandit came my rookie season when I earned the start against the USSSA Pride. Jennie Finch threw out the first pitch of the game and I got to share the mound with Cat Osterman. I earned my first loss of the season after that game, but man was I excited and grinning from ear to ear! How many people can say they have done that? I still smile thinking back to that game today and it will be a memory that I will forever cherish.
I couldn’t be more excited for softball to be added back into the 2020 Olympic games. I’m excited because I know I will watch some of my current and former teammates represent our country and compete in red, white, and blue, as well as some of the other great athletes from other teams in the Pro League. I think what excites me the most though is knowing that young softball players can start dreaming about playing in the Olympics again, just like I did when I was their age. As farfetched as that dream may seem, anything is possible. One of my favorite quotes that I continue to live by is that “If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.” Softball is back everyone, and so are the dreams!
