When you play a sport you usually grow up idealizing someone who is playing that sport also. I play softball and I loved to watch Jessica Mendoza because we both played outfield. Even after growing up I idealize Mendoza even though she stopped playing for a while. She is an amazing player, she tries her best at everything she does and you can tell that her passion is softball.
She puts everything she has into softball whether she is playing or just commentating on the College World Series. I learned a lot from watching and listening to her, not only about softball but about life. I learned that as a team you need to have some give and pull and not have to be in control of everything. I also learned that if you are going to play, then give it your all so that at the end even if you don’t win you still feel that you did all you could.
Mendoza is the Women’s Sports Foundation President, a commentator during the College World Series, an athletic ambassador for Team Darfur and a board member of the National Education Association. She continually tries to take softball to the next level by promoting the sport all the time. She is my hero.
Recently Jessica Mendoza and seven other players from the Beijing Olympics have decided not to play on the United States softball team and will instead play on teams for the professional league.
“Times have changed, and unfortunately we’re no longer in the Olympic program, but I think that this is what’s going to be the future of softball,” Lauren Lappin (Thomas, 2011).
Ever since the softball has been kicked out of the Olympic program the United States Olympic Committee cut its financing for softball’s national governing body, which in turn eliminated its stipends for national team players (Thomas, 2011).
“For our pro league to be successful, something like this has to happen,” commented Mendoza on the National League asking players to commit to a series of international competitions that would have interfered with the professional schedule (Thomas, 2011).
Since a lot of the bigger names have committed to play on the pro league, Commissioner Cheri Kempf expects the league to grow. Currently, there are only 4 teams from Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Tennessee and they currently do not have a television contract. The salary for a pro league player currently only can go up to $150,000, but Mendoza said players normally earn between $8,000 to $50,000 per season. A season normally runs only from June until August.
“We’ve made a lot of fans out of nonsayers that not only believe a woman can play softball, but don’t believe a woman can play sports,” Mendoza (Thomas, 2011).
Personally, I cannot wait to see what comes out of this for softball as a sport. As a player of the sport it is very exciting to see your sport rise to another level.
