From the USA Softball Website
Editor’s note: Whether you are from the USA, or any country, which has their own team of “Chelsea Goodacres” – youngsters still pinching themselves about making the national team and being excited about the prospect of an upcoming international competition, I think you’ll enjoy reading this. Her comment that best captured that feeling:
“I realized it was not a dream when the USA team gear arrived to my home and I tried it on. Looking in the mirror for the first time and seeing “USA” on the uniform that I was wearing was a very proud moment for me! How can words ever explain how that truly feels? Amazing, proud, excited, and thrilled come to mind. It was all starting to sink in and become real. I will be playing softball for the USA and playing against the best players from other countries in other countries!”
Leading up to the International Softball Federation IX Jr. Women’s World Championship (19-and-under), December 6-17, 2011, in Cape Town, South Africa, USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team members Cheyenne Cordes, an outfielder from Fairfield, Calif., and Chelsea Goodacre, a catcher from Temecula, Calif., will be blogging biweekly for USASoftball.com.
March 17, 2011
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Playing on world stage ‘best thing’ any player could dream of
If you couldn’t tell, I am new to this whole blogging thing so please be patient with me, as I am bound and determined to get better at it. In my last blog, I talked about being selected to the USA Junior Women’s National team and although there is plenty more to write about, I would like to share a little more about my trip to Bogota, Colombia.
As I’m sure you can imagine, California to Bogota was a very long plane flight and it was probably the longest fight I have ever been on. When we landed in Bogota, I was amazed to see how many people there were! I read that there are close to eight million people in Bogota, Colombia, which is twice the population of Los Angeles and 80 times the population as my home town of Temecula, Calif.If you know or have heard about what Los Angeles traffic is like — double it, and you will have an idea of the traffic there. Unless you are comfortable driving like you’re in a NASCAR race and demolition derby at the same time, while also continuously getting honked at – and you honking right back,then you may not want to drive yourself around Bogota. Thankfully our USA Team traveled everywhere together in a big bus so we were rollin’ down the roads, much bigger than a lot of the other cars (and a couple horse drawn buggies) and that was perfectly fine with me!
When we finally had a chance to eat I quickly learned that I was going to have to make some adjustments to my diet of foods that I am used to and are easily found in the US, but would prove to be impossible to find here in Colombia. A little known fact about me: I am not normally one that tries different foods, a trait which seems to drive my parents crazy. But I know what I like to eat, so why stray away from it? At least that’s the way I was before traveling to South America! My three years of high school Spanish would now be put to the test to order food I was going to have to eat. Thank goodness my parents talked me out of taking French!
There are 17 girls from seven different states on our USA Junior National Softball Team, each of us has our own unique personalities. When our coaches had the idea for us to team up and perform an impromptu skit, in front of our coaches, teammates and families, it was apparent that we were all funny, outgoing, creative and maybe a little weird, but when these same girls put on a uniform and step on a softball field, we are all serious and fierce competitors and nothing short of doing our best it acceptable! We were there to win Gold for the USA, but to also show how much we love, honor and respect this great game.
I couldn’t believe it, when our team arrived at the Colombian softball fields to practice, there were many Bogota fans wanting to take pictures with us, watching us practice and asked for autographs. It was a very cool and it surprised me. It was also the first time I gave an autograph to someone! Our USA coaches had brought souvenir items for us to pass out to the fans, and there were plenty of fans who wanted a souvenir from our USA team.
Although all the fans were great, I particularly liked our time with the young kids who were watching us. I remember when I was their age, 8 or 9 years old, watching our USA National Team play in local tournaments, and how excited I was to get an autograph from one of our USA players. (I think I should mention that, although some say I might be a little crazy, I’m not delusional and I want to be clear that I’m not insinuating that I am anywhere close to being someone famous like the Superstars on our National Team, who by the way, we will be playing exhibition games against this summer. See you soon ladies. Yikes!)
The kids in Colombia were very excited and and I was equally excited giving things to them. Bringing a smile to the face of a young kid was special to me and a part of being on this team that I didn’t expect or even consider, but I am very thankful and blessed I had this chance to experience.
Over the two weeks we were in Colombia, I had the opportunity to watch softball players from many other countries compete against each other. I realized that the passion to play this great game of softball is not exclusive to me and my USA teammates, these girls love this game as much as we do! We are from different countries, we may not speak the same language but we were all softball athletes, there to represent our country and to bring home the Gold Medal. I also noticed that although some teams didn’t have the latest and greatest softball gear or the latest softball bat to hit the market, every player on every team had something in common with each other and that is the desire, passion and dedication to be the best softball player they can be and the courage to put on that uniform, step on the field, put it all on the line and compete against the best softball players from other countries. It was such an incredibly cool experience and so much more than just softball.
I think sometimes we can get caught up in what we are doing and never really stop to smell the roses (as my dad puts it) and consider all the little things about this game and the common bond all of us softball players share. Our USA team came home with the Gold Medal which was such a proud moment for me and one that words cannot describe. I also think about the players we competed against, who I may never see again, but we shared a moment of our lives as softball competitors on a field in a Bogota, Colombia, and I will always cherish that.
I, like so many other softball players in the USA and across the world, was very upset when the International Olympic Committee decided to remove softball from the Olympic Games. I was even sadder, when we could not get it voted back in, after all the hard work that was being done around the world to get it reinstated. As I think about all these wonderful experiences and having this chance to wear the USA uniform and to compete on a world stage for a Gold Medal, this was the best thing any softball player could dream of.
I am very thankful to ASA/USA Softball for everything they do to make this happen for us, it is truly appreciated from the bottom of my heart. I would also like to thank the International Softball Federation (ISF) for providing us this world stage to compete on and for working so hard to bring our sport to parts of the world that had never played softball before. Watching so many different teams from so many different country’s, march out on the softball field each proudly wearing the uniform of their country they represent and me with USA on my jersey, was a very proud moment for me and one that I will remember for a lifetime.
Go Team USA!
Chelsea Goodacre
USA Softball
Earlier blog entry from Chelsea Goodacre
February 17, 2011
Meet Chelsea Goodacre
My father taught me that the only way you can make good at anything is to practice, and then practice some more. – Pete Rose
I am Chelsea Goodacre and I am a member of the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team. I am in my senior year at Temecula Valley High School, located in, you guessed it, Temecula, Calif., where among other things I do there (like school work), I also play softball. The quote above, by Pete Rose, could easily describe me and softball.
Temecula, located 60 miles north of San Diego, is a small town but getting bigger. I have been here for most of my life and it’s a great place to live. I play travel ball for a team named Fury on which I am a catcher and I sometimes play third base. I throw right and bat left but I’m not a slapper. (I can slap but I just don’t have that, Caitlin Lowe speed — yet!). I turned into a lefty batter when I was 11 years old, so that I had a shorter distance to run to first base and hopefully beat any plays made there. As I got older and the pitching got better, batting on the left side of the plate has had other advantages as well.
Softball, for me, started off at 8 years old. It was just a good way for me to spend time with my friends and play a sport that did not require me to run, and run, and run, chasing a ball all over a field, while trying to make a goal. Although recently I have been hearing rumors from my future Arizona teammates that there seems to be “A LOT” of running to do there in practice!
As I grew up, I really started to become obsessed with softball. I LOVE everything about this game! I love the competition, the hard work involved and the way it challenges me to be the best I can be at something I enjoy. I practiced all the time, day, right before school, after school, it doesn’t matter, as long as I get it in. If I didn’t feel I did my best in a game, I would find a way to practice more, so I would be better prepared the next time. I would practice in the worst weather conditions, like rain and freezing temperature and on holidays like Christmas Day and Thanksgiving day. I do this because I feel that there are very few softball players practicing on these days, so I will have an advantage by having a few extra days of practice that others do not have!
I love hitting and practicing hitting. I especially like watching video of my swing and fixing things that needed to improve and seeing those improvements pay off in games. As I mentioned above, I am not left handed, so batting on the left side – took a lot of practice and video tape sessions to become proficient at. I spend a lot of time watching MLB players swings in slow motion and I have a deep appreciation for the work they have put in to be the best, especially Albert Pujols, who, in my opinion has the best swing in Major League Baseball. By the way, I can do a very good impression of his swing.
“Someone, please pinch me!” That’ s what I keep saying to those around me, because in these last few years, my life and my accomplishments in softball seem like an amazing dream. I am going to play college softball at the school of my dreams and for the most amazing softball coach in the country, The University of Arizona and Coach Mike Candrea. If that’s not exciting enough, I also was invited to tryout and was selected to be a member on the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team! I can’t even explain how amazing a feeling this is! It’s hard for me to believe that this is ME, it’s happening too.
I realized it was not a dream when the USA team gear arrived to my home and I tried it on. Looking in the mirror for the first time and seeing “USA” on the uniform that I was wearing was a very proud moment for me! How can words ever explain how that truly feels? Amazing, proud, excited, and thrilled come to mind. It was all starting to sink in and become real. I will be playing softball for the USA and playing against the best players from other countries in other countries!What only few people know is that about three months before the Junior National Team tryouts at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., I had broken my wrist in a high school softball game. After eight weeks in a cast, my doctor removed the cast and cleared me to start swinging a bat — only about three weeks before the tryout. I had no idea how I would do after that much time off and only a few weeks to prepare – but like always I practiced and worked hard and luckily I did well enough to make the team.
My USA Softball teammates are some of the hardest working, dedicated and talented softball players I have ever seen play the game. Two of them, Hallie Wilson and Shelby Pendley, will be joining me at Arizona in the fall. Each one of them are amazing people and wonderful teammates to have. It’s an honor to play on the same team with them. Each have their own fun and unique personalities that makes traveling, practicing and competing together a great experience. I will share more about our time together in a later blog.
The USA Softball coaches, especially Head Coach Karen Johns, have been a great coach to play for. I have learned a lot of things from her in the short amount of time on the team. Some of those specifically about softball and others carry over into life lessons. One that comes to mind and she exemplifies is staying strong and true to yourself, especially when challenges and struggles present themselves. (And they will, both on and off the field.) Not a bad thing to remember!
The assistant coaches, Coach Suzy Brazney, Coach Stacy Iveson and Coach Pat Murphy, have all made huge contributions to my game and have made playing for the Junior Women’s National Team the greatest experience I have ever had playing softball. The times I have spent with the team and coaches, is something that I will always cherish and remember.
I look forward to sharing more good times with my USA teammates and coaches again soon as we compete and bringing home the Gold Medal in the ISF Junior Women’s World Championships in Cape Town, South Africa, on Dec. 6-17, 2011! Thank you for all of your support. Go USA!
Chelsea Goodacre
USA Softball
Don’t miss the ISF Junior Women’s World Championships in Cape Town, South Africa, on Dec. 6-17, 2011
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