| Quotes of famous/Olympic Softball Players-Michelle Smith I didn't fall out of bed and become and Olympic champion. I worked hard , I was dedicated, and I really worked to perfect all aspects of my game.- Michele Smith I don't need to be the No. 1 on the team. This is what I train for day in and day out. I am the support player. If I need to hit, pitch, run, whatever, I will do it. If everything was going to be about me, I think I'd quit." "I don't pitch to bring glory to myself. I pitch because I love to see the reaction of my catcher when I throw the ball right where she asked for it or when my center fielder makes a diving catch. That's what I play for." "The first few days (in Japan), I felt like Alice in Wonderland after she stepped through the looking glass; suddenly, I was bigger than all my surroundings. The cars were so tiny, I had to fold myself into them. My feet hung a foot beyond the end of my bed. (I told the team manager the next day that I needed a futon, and I've slept on the floor ever since.) The sinks were so low that I had to bend over at the waist to brush my teeth and wash dishes. The doorways were eight inches lower than ours, so I just made it through without beaning myself." "My name (in Japan) was a big problem. Because the Japanese don't have an l sound (as in Michele) or a th sound (as in Smith), I became Mi-she-ru Su-mi-su. I'm sure the fans thought i was a complete snob during the first season because I never knew that they were calling to me!" "In the championship game against Hitachi Software last Novememer, I stood on the pitcher's mound in Kyoto Stadium with two outs and 10,000 fans screaming their lungs out. I had pitched 25 innings over the last 24 hours, and I was exhausted. Now I was facing one of Hitachi's strongest players. I threw a pitch and heard teh crack of the at. 'Please, let one of my teammates catch it,' I prayed. Luckily, our second baseman fielded the ball and threw to first for the out and the game. I stepped off the mound and looked around. In the distance, I could see Kyoto's ancient temples. My teammates surrounded me and threw me into the air. All my early frustrations with the repetitive drills had vanished. I realized I had become a better player because of them. My teammates know it too. They'll see me in Sydney." "I believe I'm one of the best pitchers in the world-I know I am as far as results go. But you can't live on your legacy. Every time I step on the mound I have to prove it." "If you'd have asked me five or six years ago, I'd have thought I'd be a thoracic or cardiovascular surgeon by now." But I realized that the central theme of what I wanted to do was to help people and make a difference in lives. On the field, I can help little kids. It might not be in an O.R. suite, but to put your hands on their shoulders and see their eyes light up and hear them say they want to be like me someday, that's my proudest moment as an athlete." "I throw about two to three miles per hour faster now," says Smith speaking about the car wreck. "I still need to be real careful with my elbow today. I can't feel heat and often can't feel pain in late-inning games. But I am just such a competitor that I just keep going and keep focused." "I love the Japanese discipline. We practice sometimes eight hours a day, practice talking, spending time together. The Japanese are very dedicated people who spend hours honing their skills. I respect how they take care of their bodies and spend the time to stretch, warm up and warm down." "There have been a lot of complaints that these Olympics are very commercial, and that's going to happen whenever professional sports get involved. But we are all amateurs. We do not get paid to play anywhere. To me, money is not what makes the world go around. My happiness is not based on my bank account. Sometimes, I'll be on the mound and step back and think that there are people lying on operating tables right now, with their chests cracked open, and someone is reaching in with their hands, working on their heart." "It was like losing my identity (speaking about the car accident). I spent two months in a cast. I had rehab for more than four hours a day. I only had five-and-a-half weeks to get ready for the season. Funny thing is, I threw harder after the accident because of all the hard work. I am proud how I came back from the accident. I realize now that the accident made me a better player and person. It symbolizes a lot about my character." "People can relate to other people's triumphs over difficulty. I realized I can touch many people's lives playing softball. I want people to see I have a passion for what I do." "In 1986 I was faced with the reality that I might never pitch again. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that after all that has happened my Olympic dream is actually about to come true." "I'm the kind of person, if I see a problem, I want to fix it. The thing I found hard is that people (in Japan) didn't want to stick it out--the nail that sticks out, is the nail that gets hammered." "A game is a game, but the meaning of this game was different, and to see those Olympic rings associated with our game is truly a great day for all softball fans and anyone associated with the game." "It makes me feel good to be able to change and influence a girl's life by signing her ball, giving her words of encouragement, and seeing her eyes light up." "I hit the ball real well all day. I was just looking to hit the ball hard somewhere and fortunately it went out." "I threw only one flat pitch and it got cranked. Anything's possible in this game. That's what makes pitching so nerve-wracking. You can throw 99 perfect pitches and the 100th is a bad one, and you get crunched." "The key to champions is what happens after something goes wrong. I was determined not to get frustrated. Someone hits a ball like that with 8,500 people looking is the worst feeling in the world. I looked at Saito and went 'Oooh.' I gave her a hard time because it's the first homerun she's ever hit off me." "We don't care who we play. As far as I am concerned, it's just another team and another pair of shoes and bat in the box." "At first, I was like, I'm running around the softball field and I'm putting off a career in medicine. Ethically, I'm like, how do I do this? I realized that, because the game is changing so much and there's so many young ladies playing, I can inspire them." "Why go after a pitch we can't handle? Stay healthy and avoid drugs." "It's not the destination, but the journey that matters most in life." Favorite Quote about Michele--"Consider this: in softball the pitching rubber is 40ft from the batter. Michele is 5 feet 10, with long arms and huge stride. When she releases the ball she's so close up it's like Theatre Vision. I've had waitresses who don't hand you the food from that close. And she's been timed at over 70 mph, which from that distance is equivalent of facing a 100mph heater. (Don't go up there thinking curve, boys and girls, think fastball.) It's terrifying. It's Nuke LaLoosh. Sometimes she'll throw a pitch, and I'll hear the batter sigh, 'Oh, geez!' I have seen hitters start backing away as soon as she goes into her motion."--Gillian Boxx, USA Olympic Catcher Back to main page |
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