We made it!!

There were days I wasn’t 100% sure we would get to this point. I wanted to believe that it would occur, and I know the culture of Japan to know they were going to do all they could to make it happen, but a global pandemic hit. No one knows how to truly deal with that, so there was always a small doubt in the back of my mind.

This team has been so resilient with what we were dealt. The typical Pre-Olympic tour of 2020 was well under way, we were hitting stride, gaining steam, when all was halted. I know I personally thought it might be a few months, and next thing we know, it’s 9 months before we got to take a field together in the red, white and blue.

In the last 6 months, we got reacquainted with one another. I mean who doesn’t change a bit when you quarantine for 9 months! The last 6 months were different. We didn’t travel town to town, city to city, every 3-4 days. We didn’t play 50+ games and interact with thousands of fans as USA Softball typically does. 6 months, 7-8 different cities, but plenty of time on the field this team has gelled and prepared.

Since being in Japan, we played 8 games against teams from the Japan Professional League. Every game was a good one. Some tight scoring, which allowed us pitchers to feel some pressure to keep runners at bay. Some we had our offense rolling. We got a little bit of everything we needed, and by the last game, we were clicking on all cylinders.

Now, we are in the village! Yesterday was so exciting to see everyone get excited to see Tokyo 2020 all over the place, to pull into the village! The excitement to get our credentials, open our apartment doors, it was all so great. Our bags of Ralph Lauren gear were waiting for us in our rooms, and my apartment spent the next 2 hours unpacking, modeling our new clothes and being kids at Christmas! I’m smiling typing this, because it was just such an amazing moment to share with my teammates.

So, we are here. It is here! The Olympics are upon us. We get to get our feet wet in the village today, before getting back on the field tomorrow.

The TV schedule is out! Check USA Softball’s social media to find it and follow our journey! It’s definitely going to be worth following.

Until Next Time… 

#38