Chelsea Goodacre

APPRECIATIVE USA JUNIOR PLAYER
2011-03-29

Catcher Chelsea Goodacre (pictured at right and below) will be on the U.S. team that will participate in this year’s ISF IX Jr. Women’s World Championship in South Africa. She recently wrote a blog for usasoftball.com, with the following excerpted from there.

If you couldn't tell, I am new to this whole blogging thing so please be patient with me, as I am bound and determined to get better at it. In my last blog, I talked about being selected to the USA Junior Women's National team and although there is plenty more to write about, I would like to share a little more about my trip to Bogota, Colombia. (Editor’s note: The Pan American Championship for Junior Girls last August in Bogota was the Americas qualifier for the junior world championship.)

I couldn’t believe it, when our team arrived at the Colombian softball fields to practice, there were many Bogota fans wanting to take pictures with us, watching us practice and asked for autographs. It was very cool and surprised me. It was also the first time I gave an autograph to someone! Our USA coaches had brought souvenir items for us to pass out to the fans, and there were plenty of fans who wanted a souvenir from our team.

The kids in Colombia were very excited and I was equally excited giving things to them. Bringing a smile to the face of a young kid was special to me and a part of being on this team that I didn’t expect or even consider, but I am very thankful and blessed I had this chance to experience.

Over the two weeks we were in Colombia, I had the opportunity to watch softball players from many other countries compete against each other. I realized that the passion to play this great game of softball is not exclusive to me and my USA teammates, these girls love this game as much as we do! We are from different countries, we may not speak the same language but we were all softball athletes, there to represent our country and to bring home the gold medal. I also noticed that although some teams didn’t have the latest and greatest softball gear or the latest softball bat to hit the market, every player on every team had something in common with each other and that is the desire, passion and dedication to be the best softball player they can be and the courage to put on that uniform, step on the field, put it all on the line and compete against the best softball players from other countries. It was such an incredibly cool experience and so much more than just softball.

I think sometimes we can get caught up in what we are doing and never really stop to smell the roses (as my dad puts it) and consider all the little things about this game and the common bond all of us softball players share. Our USA team came home with the gold medal, which was such a proud moment for me and one that words cannot describe. I also think about the players we competed against, who I may never see again, but we shared a moment of our lives as softball competitors on a field in a Bogota, Colombia, and I will always cherish that.

I, like so many other softball players in the USA and across the world, was very upset when the International Olympic Committee decided to remove softball from the Olympic Games. I was even sadder when we could not get it voted back in after all the hard work that was being done around the world to get it reinstated. As I think about all these wonderful experiences and having this chance to wear the USA uniform and to compete on a world stage for a gold medal, this was the best thing any softball player could dream of.

I am very thankful to ASA/USA Softball for everything they do to make this happen for us. It is truly appreciated from the bottom of my heart. I would also like to thank the International Softball Federation (ISF) for providing us this world stage to compete on and for working so hard to bring our sport to parts of the world that had never played softball before. Watching so many different teams from so many different countries march out on the softball field each proudly wearing the uniform of their country they represent, and me with USA on my jersey, was a very proud moment for me and one that I will remember for a lifetime.

Chelsea Goodacre batting
(Photos courtesy of USA Softball)