The one thing I'd always wanted to do in my career is push myself out of my comfort zone - I think I'm really comfortable with being uncomfortable. So that's why I played pro men's hockey, that's why I played softball and hockey at the same time, that's why I'm not afraid to speak up - that's just who I am.
It's so empowering to see yourself as a machine.
The point of the game is not how well the individual does, but whether the team wins. That's the beautiful heart of the game, the blending of personalities, the mutual sacrifices for the group success.
To be a star and stay a star, I think you've got to have a certain air of arrogance about you, a cockiness, a swagger on the field that says, "I can do this and you can't stop me. " I know that I play baseball with this air of arrogance, but I think it's lacking in a lot of guys who could have the potential to be stars.
I loved being on the field playing and teaching softball. I didn't like the fact that a camp had my name on it and I didn't know the logistics of what was going on. I wanted to make sure I was involved in a camp that did things right.
You have to be extreme to be exceptional. I couldn't revel in being number one. I had to get to zero. When my fitness was at its peak, I was intimidating. I made guys cave in. They'd be dejected in the locker room after matches, and I'd go out for a run, as if it wasn't enough. I'd rub it in their faces. I meant to do that.
When I was 12, I had a coach tell me I would never be a championship pitcher. That devastated me. I was crushed.
I was still in the college and they told me I should try it. At the time, I still thought I was going to be an Olympic softball player. But later, when I retired from softball in 2007, I decided to give bobsled a try. I emailed the coach and got invited to Lake Placid for a tryout and I never left.
And my dad drilled it in my head, you know, 'If you want it bad enough, and you're willing to make the sacrifices, you can do it. But first you have to believe in yourself.
The ones who are successful are the ones who really want it. You have to have that inner drive otherwise it's not going to work out.
Everyone is really afraid of getting out there and not being good. That's the challenge: To be afraid and know people are staring at you and know you might not do all that well, but you do it anyway. What singles out the successful athlete from the ones who never make it past a plateau, it that successful athletes risk failure, even though they are terrified.
To some Softball is a game; to others it's Life.
Softball has given me so much in life. It's taught me the kind of person I want to be, and given me a sweet sisterhood. It even led me to my husband.
I played softball and basketball growing up. I really wanted to play football but both parents said no. I was mad for a second, then got over it. Now, just because I'm tall doesn't mean I can play basketball. I was waaaaay better at swinging a bat.
To be an American and unable to play baseball is comparable to being a Polynesian and unable to swim.
I don't even have children, it's just been an excuse to play jenga and hit softballs in my backyard with a box of laundry detergant wearing baby clothes.
I was born and raised in Huntington Beach, California. I was very athletic, playing volleyball and softball. I did gymnastics for about ten years, too.
If the Iraqi regime is able to produce, buy or steal an amount of highly enriched uranium a little larger than a single softball, [it] could have a nuclear weapon in less than a year.
When you fail you learn from the mistakes you made and it motivates you to work even harder.
We're prepared, and we've done everything we can to prepare for this moment in time. That's what confidence is all about.