This article says it all - http://www.vox.com/2016/7/13/12067548/olympics-jennie-finch
Many of you know how important softball is to me. From the age of 8, I developed many life long friendships that lasted through the middle school and high school years - a time that's notorious for being difficult. Softball, because of my teammates, made those years easier. We learned how to pick each other up on and off the field. We learned in time that an important loss, no matter how painful in the moment, wasn't the end of the world. We learned how to celebrate each player's individual victories, and those as a team. Those lessons somehow naturally translated over to life off the field.
I was 10 in 1996 when softball became an Olympic sport for the first time. From there on out I wanted to play for Team USA. Other things eventually became more important, but watching Jennie Finch live my dream was like a dream in of itself. Watching the team lose to Beijing in 2008 was heartbreaking. And just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, softball was discontinued as an Olympic sport. I was pissed. It was like, as Jennie says, a step backwards for female athletes.
Many of you know how important softball is to me. From the age of 8, I developed many life long friendships that lasted through the middle school and high school years - a time that's notorious for being difficult. Softball, because of my teammates, made those years easier. We learned how to pick each other up on and off the field. We learned in time that an important loss, no matter how painful in the moment, wasn't the end of the world. We learned how to celebrate each player's individual victories, and those as a team. Those lessons somehow naturally translated over to life off the field.
I was 10 in 1996 when softball became an Olympic sport for the first time. From there on out I wanted to play for Team USA. Other things eventually became more important, but watching Jennie Finch live my dream was like a dream in of itself. Watching the team lose to Beijing in 2008 was heartbreaking. And just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, softball was discontinued as an Olympic sport. I was pissed. It was like, as Jennie says, a step backwards for female athletes.
