Alison Bradley (Photo courtesy of Softball Canada)

IN MY OWN WORDS
2008-05-30

In the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Softball competition in August, internationalsoftball.com will periodically run an article written by one athlete from each of the eight participating teams. We begin today with outfielder Alison Bradley from Canada, who wrote the article below at the beginning of this month.

The Olympic Games are fast approaching. As I write this article there are only 102 days remaining until the first pitch. People say that time flies, and while this is true, each and every one of us is in control of what we do with that time. So what will my Canadian teammates and I be doing as the days and hours count down?

For the next 30 days we will train on our own, getting ourselves prepared to start the summer in the best shape possible. We have personalized gym workouts to complete six days a week and are each responsible to do what we need on the field. Our skill sets are established and now it is just a matter of fine-tuning and making sure we are mentally prepared to deal with the unexpected. Of course, this time will also be used to spend time with family and friends before being separated for three months.

Our summer tour commences on May 31st and will definitely keep us busy. We get off to a great start with training and games in Oklahoma against China, the USA, and the NPF All-Star team. Following our stay in OKC is a tour through Illinois and Ohio playing against three NPF teams and then on to Ontario, my home province, for the start of our Canadian tour. It’s not very often that I get to play in my home province where all of my family and friends can come and watch so I am especially excited for that part of our tour. We cap off our Canadian play at the Canada Cup in British Columbia before staging in Japan and doing final preparations leading to China for the event we are all anxiously anticipating.

I am incredibly fortunate that my parents are able to travel to China to watch me compete in my second Olympics. Knowing they are present in the stadium is a comforting feeling for me and I always have to find them before the game starts. They have supported me in all of my endeavors and I cannot thank them enough for that. Their encouragement and support has allowed me to achieve things I would have never thought possible.