International & NPF

Maren’s Travel Blog: Gold Medal Mentality

Rebecca Blitz (Senior, Indiana) stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth with runners on first and second.  We were up 6-1 and only need two runs to enforce the seven-run mercy rule.  Blitz was our lead off slapper and already had one hit in the game.  The first pitch came across the plate for strike one.  The second pitch was roped into centerfield for a walk-off triple. The gold was ours but there was only one problem.

There was one woman in the dugout who sacrificed so much to be in that moment and she never saw the field.  She knew she wasn’t good enough to hit off college pitching when she had never seen it but she could still play a solid first base.  That woman is me.

Now, I’m not here for your sympathy but I will tell you how it feels to be a role player. Each year teams talk about a senior or someone who was at every practice and every game cheering her teammates on and never complaining.  By the end of the season, coaches tell folks,”That girl was a role player for us and she has a lot of character.” Not exactly a compliment in the moment.

While everyone was smiling and celebrating, I couldn’t help but break down.  Not just because I didn’t get to play but because I immediately thought back to how 16-year-old me would’ve reacted to this situation.  She would have gathered her equipment and walked off the field without posing for pictures.  She wouldn’t have spoken to anyone and she probably would’ve screamed into her glove out of frustration.

Here I am, 26.  Not going to lie, I cried as soon as the last run crossed home plate.  I cried because I won a gold medal.  I cried because I was angry with the coaches who promised to get everyone in the game.  I cried because little girls were asking for our autographs and fighting over the hat I gave away.  I cried because my career just came full circle.  Sixteen-year-old me came to Israel before her senior year of high school and gave up her dream of playing college softball. Nine years later (I celebrated a birthday here so don’t follow the years by age), I prepare to come home from Israel with a Maccabiah gold medal.

One of my coaches apologized after the game because she knew she messed up.  The other ignored me and the situation.  The Israeli coaches knew what happened and sent me texts after the game that meant more than anything. And there I was, reading a text from someone who was a complete stranger a week ago and crying again.  Not because I was sad but because in the bigger picture, she let me know about the impact I made on the sport I love, in the country that I love and on lives that I didn’t know existed before I came here.

I have a few more days left in the beautiful country and I will soak in every moment.  We get our medals on Sunday night and who knows what is next with my playing career.  It could be over, it could take me on a whole new adventure.  Only time will tell.

 

 

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