jennie Finch Essay

In the 2000 Sydney Games, she pitched the USA team to a victory over Australia and the gold medal game against Japan. While in the olympics, she established an Olympic single-game strikeout record with 25 in a round robin game. In 2004, not only was the the best pitcher but she was the best hitter on the USA team with a .545 batting average. For the 2004 games she pitched the final out for a 5-1 win against Australia and the title of another gold medal. Later she was chosen to play in the 2008 Beijing games where they received a silver medal. Away from the USA Olympic Team she was apart of the Pro-Fastpitch X-treme tour. In 1999 she was named the USA/ASA Softball Athlete of the Year.

“A group of dedicated girls” is how Junior Danielle Urbon described the softball team. Even though the team struggled all year long and didn’t win as many games as they expected, they loved the game. The team showed improvement from last season but still have much work to do to get to where they want to be. When interview-

Have you ever had so much passion for a sport you have been playing for almost your whole life? I love playing all positions of softball and I admire everything that comes with it that includes battle wounds, road trips to games, making memories to practicing out on home field getting ready to bat some love into their lives. Softball is not an easy sport at all but it’s my passion and a privilege to be able to stand on that field. So much love, effort and hard work has been put in over the years. After 12 years of truly knowing the sport these are my favorite things out on the field such as pitching with strength, sliding with passion, and batting to hear all of your support to make a home run!

Clearly, Laurie’s biggest accomplishment is performing in the 2016 Rio Olympics, but nobody know what led up to that. Laurie met Maggie Haney when she was only six years old at her first gymnastic class. It was then Haney pushed Hernandez to attend the USA Gymnastics development camps at age nine, which, of course, she excelled at. (Laurie)

Softball is a sport that is known throughout the United States and the world. Softball originated on Thanksgiving Day in Chicago in 1887. The game was actually said to have begun as an indoor game. Softball was started by a group of men who had gathered at a club to watch the Harvard vs. Yale football game. When the news came that Yale had defeated Harvard, 17-8, one Yale supporter, overcome with enthusiasm, picked up an old boxing glove and threw it at a nearby Harvard alumni, who promptly tried to hit it back with a stick. This gave George Hancock, a reporter for the Chicago Board of Trade, an idea. He suggested a game of indoor baseball. Naturally, Hancock's friends thought he was talking about playing a game outdoors, not indoors.

This paper is going to be over the topic of softball. The history of softball, how it has changed over the years as well as the creation and invention.

When she first started out she felt that she was out of shape and unconditioned. Nevertheless, she practiced a bit before her first tryout and she made it on the J.V team. After she made it, she practiced six days a

Carol is originally from the Philly Cheese Steak State ( Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). As of now, she resides in the Garden State (Morris Plains, New Jersey). Before landing her job as John Jay’s Athletic Director she came from a very rich softball background. Kashow was a head coach for multiple Division I schools. That includes the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and Drexel University. With all these high competitive coaching jobs and as a successful softball player, she got the recognition from the College’s Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Softball Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Board of Officials for Women’s Sport Service Award. It’s clear to say that Carol Kashow has made her impact on the great sport of softball. During her interview she states softball has always been a passion of her. This passion started from about seventh grade and is still around for her. She stated that even though her current residence is “small and little”,it

Softball players have different ways of becoming attached to the sport. When it comes to Olympic softball players its pretty much the same. They start playing at a young age, go to college, and eventually get asked to strive with team USA. Jennie Finch and Lisa Fernandez are two Olympic gold medalists for USA in softball. Jennie has two Olympic metals and Lisa has won three gold metals. I will be comparing and contrasting these players and how this sport became a passion for them.

Each of my years playing softball has been a momemtous experience for me. Indeed, I have learned valuable lessons about life. I have not only gained experience on how to approach different life situations, but the game has also provided an insight of me. In other words, softball has impacted my life and will also shape my future. Therfore, this will seek to discuss some of these impacts contributions to my life.

One of the most well know players of all time is Jennie Finch. Finch, like many great players, started playing the game very early on in her life at the age of five. Just a mere three years later she pitched her first ball. During Finch's high school career she was known for being an athletic girl. Her senior year she was Captain of her volleyball team, basketball team, and softball team. Finch lettered in softball in all of her high school years and most recently in 2016 Finch’s high school, La Mirada, retired her jersey number, the first time for a softball player.

The Congressional Women’s Softball League does not play against each other; rather they play against the women in the media. Keith plays the catcher for the rival team, Bad News Babes. This team is entirely of women from the press corps.

Freshman Wendy Gillet appeared on the Second Team as a First Baseman, while classmate Nichole Aldridge (pitcher), sophomore Michelle Tasin (second base) and senior Emily Sexton (outfielder) were named Honorable Mention.

She is the player who shows up early to practice and stays late to put in some extra batting practice. These actions have encouraged me as well as other teammates to work harder and had made us realize that one of the ways to make the team better is to individually make yourself better. Lastly, I have never met anyone who honors the game of softball more than Lauryn Banks. This year was my final season of softball. Our last game was a heartbreaking loss third round of playoffs. After the game, I was overwhelmed with emotions. The rest of my team was consumed with themselves, but not Lauryn. Lauryn came to me and embraced me while I cried. In this moment, I realized that Lauryn embodies what it means to be a teammate. She cares about her teammates more than for their batting average or how many errors they have made. She cares about them for them and the actual person they are. I feel this is a quality that will carry Lauryn far in her life. There is no better way of honoring the game than taking the lessons learned and applying them to their future

“Not everyone is going to see or accept you for who you are, and you have to accept that.” I was told this quote everyday by my mother. Today was no different, walking up to the raked field, quote on my mind , eyes on the fresh red clay, and the sound of my metal cleats against the concrete. I was ready for this day. After months of hard work from November to February , the tryouts for Central softball team were over. Over the span of four months, I pushed myself harder than I ever thought I could, but what I did never seemed to be enough for the team.