Cat's Corner

July 2, 2007

Hello again everyone!

This time I am coming to you from Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada. We are at the annual Canada Cup, which draws a good amount of international competition.

Today was game one of our 2007 summer. We were a little rusty, but with more games our team will start clicking on all cylinders. We are using the first two games to get all five pitchers some innings early in the tournament, so we aren't waiting four days to finally get in a game.

We will be done with the Canada Cup on July 8, and then we get to head back to Oklahoma City for the World Cup. We are excited to play there since we know the great crowds we get. We all enjoy playing there, and I think most of us are excited to see family.

Before this, the team trained for five days at our training center in Chula Vista. We had two-a-days everyday with a solid defensive practice in the morning, and then either batting practice or a scrimmage in the afternoon. Scrimmaging each other gets old though, I won't lie. We have all faced off enough in our time as a team.

I wanted to answer a few more questions before I end this, so here they are:

Amber McIntyre wrote:
I was wondering what the best way to increase speed is. I am throwing around 57-58. I practice pitching everyday. I want to get faster so I can help my travel team out. And I was wondering what would help me the best in the future to get me a softball scholarship to Texas University.

First things first we are the University of Texas, not Texas University. =) I never focused on increasing speed. I knew, as I grew older, I would grow into my body and would gain strength in order to throw faster. The most important aspect of pitching isn't how hard you throw, but how well you can locate and spin the ball. You want to be able to keep hitters off balance with movement pitches and off-speed pitches. I personally don't throw that hard, but my movement keeps hitters guessing. As far as getting a scholarship, work hard everyday and keep improving. Play on travel teams, and go to the college exposure tournaments across the country. College coaches go nationwide to scout, so put yourself in those places!

Haley Hayden asked:
Are you doing any camps, when and where?

If you keep checking my calendar here on my website, it will be updated with clinics I’m working across the country. As of right now, I am not planning on doing that many in the next year, since I’m trying to train and be in shape for the next Olympic tryouts, and then our nationwide tour leading up to the Games. This next year is crucial; so much of our time will be spent preparing us!

Jeremy S. wrote:
I had a question about the sleeve on your left arm. Is there a benefit to wearing that type of sleeve or do you just wear it for show? Thanks and as an avid Longhorn fan we miss seeing you in Burnt Orange. HOOK EM!

Thanks Jeremy. I miss UT, but I had my time, and now it's off to the real world. My sleeve provides padding for my elbow. I burst a bursa sac in my elbow when I was little, and sometimes if I hit it the wrong way on my hip, I will irritate that area, so the sleeve protects from that. That’s the only reason I wear it. I have no other problems, and it's definitely not something I would choose to wear for show.

Many people have written in asking if I will pitch in certain series for the Rockford Thunder. I really don't have answers for that since I am not 100% sure when I will throw. A lot of it depends on when and how much I pitch while I'm with Team USA. If you check out the Thunder's website, they usually release tentative pitching schedules before each series.

Thanks for everything and talk to you soon!

Cat