POLKcast: Polk State Softball alum Greta Cecchetti an Italian trailblazer [TRANSCRIPT]
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Huge, huge adjustment, uh, to
the language, to the culture,
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uh, the food, even just going to Walmart.
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Another kinda free rock roll
make, maybe want tap toe,
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another free rock roll,
maybe Want tap toe?
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Good morning everyone.
Welcome to the Polk Cast.
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I will be your host
today. I am Mike Ferguson.
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Joining me this morning is our co-host
Andrew, too. How are you this morning,
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Andrew? Doing excellent, Mike.
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Glad to be here with you on our first
Athletics alumni episode of the Polk Cast.
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We have a very special
guest this morning, uh,
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with us today. She is a former NJCA,
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All American at Polk
State, a softball pitcher.
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She’s the first Italian born
player to play NCAA Division one
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softball,
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the first Italian player to
play professional softball in
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Japan,
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and the first Italian born player
to play professionally in the
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United States, uh,
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recently when she joined the
Athlete’s Unlimited C Circuit.
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Gretta Chichetti is with us this
morning. How are you, Greta?
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Hi everyone. Thanks so much for having me.
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Greta, growing up in Italy, I’m curious,
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how did you discover softball
and ultimately kind of
what made you fall in love
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with the game?
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Uh, softball is not very popular
at home like you would imagine.
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Um, and, but my aunties,
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they both played softball and
my uncle also played baseball,
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so they were kind of familiar,
uh, with the sport. Um,
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and yeah,
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after trying dancing and gymnastics
and swimming and none of that was
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really working for me when I was
little, um, they just said, Hey,
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why don’t you try softball?
And, uh, lucky for me,
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my hometown is pretty popular,
um, for softball. It’s considered,
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uh, the capital of softball in Italy,
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and it’s also the club
that’s won more, uh,
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championship than any
other ones. Um, so yeah,
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after a first practice,
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it was Bob at first sight and
I never stopped since then.
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That’s awesome. That’s awesome.
Greta. Um, what, what city is that?
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That is considered the capital
of, of softball in Italy.
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It’s bola, it’s, uh, just
north of Milan, so in,
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in the north Italy.
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Awesome. Greta, we, I kind of in
your introduction mentioned, um,
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all the accomplishments. Uh,
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you have all the firsts that you have
set for Italian born players, so you’re,
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you’re kind of a trailblazer in
a sense. Have you ever given, uh,
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that much thought? What,
what does that mean to you?
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Is that something you’ve
ever thought about or?
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It means a lot, honestly. Um,
just, you know, every time,
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uh, I think about, uh,
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everything that my career has been,
I always have this thought of,
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hopefully I’m inspiring, um,
younger players, you know,
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and we do see a lot more players
now coming and playing college
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softball, especially at
the junior college level.
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We have a lot of Italian
players, uh, in region one,
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in region nine playing
softball right now. Um,
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excuse me, that would be region eight,
my bad. That’s Florida, right? Yes.
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And um, yeah, just, uh,
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and everything I’ve done really like
coming to the United States and playing
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college and also playing in
Australia many years. And, um,
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just like chasing, um,
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wherever softball is at a higher level
and just trying to get better and better.
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I’ve always kind of done that, uh, to
be successful with our national team.
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So that’s always been a number in mind.
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Get better to give back
to my team and my country.
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Greta. That’s awesome. And, and,
and, and speaking of, you know,
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coming from your country and, and,
and making them proud and, and,
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and taking that kind of first step of,
of leaving Italy and coming to, uh,
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the states here, kind of,
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I’m v I’m very curious kind of when
did Polk State become on your radar as
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an option to play softball at the
college level? Obviously, you know,
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the streets of Polk County
may be a little different, uh,
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than the streets of just north of Milan.
So, um, what was kind of the first,
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uh, impression you had of Polk State?
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Uh, definitely a lot different. And,
um, so it all started when I was, uh,
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um, 17 in high school. I
moved away from home, um,
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to be a member of the baseball
soccer academy in, uh,
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Tuscany. And that’s kind of what,
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so life there was very
similar to college. You know,
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it was starting the morning
practice every day in the afternoon,
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and that’s what got, that’s what got
me thinking about college, you know,
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because I loved, um,
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studying and I just loved being able
to play softball and being on the field
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every day. Uh, so I started, um,
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by cre I didn’t know what I was doing,
first of all. I had a lot of help,
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especially, um, a lot of
help from, uh, Tony Fo,
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he’s now an assistant coach at
Middle Tennessee University,
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and he’s married to my auntie, so he
was a big help. Uh, they helped me,
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uh, set up a player’s profile. I, um,
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did some skills videos and they
just helped me, uh, send it online.
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And, um, sure enough, like I, again, I, I,
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at this point I didn’t know what I was
doing, but I did get some offers and uh,
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Polk State was one of them. Um,
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back in the days, it was so called
PO Community College, <laugh>, uh,
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and we were the Vikings, our
colors were orange and green.
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Um.
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We remember.
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Yeah, <laugh> and, um, yeah,
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all I knew was that I wanted
to be in a place that was warm,
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so all the schools up
north were not for me. Um,
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and yeah, I,
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Florida sounded really nice and so I just
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made my choice based on the
weather and also based on, um,
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the location, you know,
it’s, uh, very popular area.
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It’s between a lot of the
museum parks and, you know,
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it just sounded very interesting.
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And this is like just me
being young and naive,
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not really knowing what I was going and
not knowing what I was doing <laugh>.
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At. At what point for you did you
realize, Hey, I, I have a, a future,
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uh, playing this sport? When,
when did that kind of set in?
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I don’t think that ever
did, honestly, <laugh>,
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I feel after these days I feel like, um,
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the little young kids from Italy who
just wants to play more softball and just
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wants to get better, you know, cause
you can always get better. Uh, but yeah,
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coming to, uh, Polk definitely, um,
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got my dreams, uh,
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started and my number one dream
and goal is always being, um,
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going to do Olympics with my country. Uh,
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and that happened last year. So, um,
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everything else, like if I look back
now, it’s just been an amazing ride.
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And yeah, PO was definitely
at the beginning.
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Yeah. You mentioned going to the Olympics.
That’s definitely something, wanna,
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wanna touch on. I mean, that is
an athlete’s dream, you know,
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to be able to represent their country,
um, at the international level,
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the greatest international athletic
competition that there is. And, you know,
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you got to be a part of that for, I,
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I think what was considered the 2020
Olympics that happened in 2021, um,
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in, in Tokyo. And you got to com compete
there, represent your country, Italy,
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um, just what was that experience
like as an, as an Olympian?
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So you get to have that perspective,
um, and that experience. So just how,
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how meaningful was that to you
and what was that experience like?
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Yeah, like I said, it was everything.
Like, it’s been my goal for so long.
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Uh, you know, like when you see a
shooting star, you make a wish and you,
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when you blow your birthday candles,
you make a wish. And up until then,
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my wishes have always been being
able to take part into Olympic games.
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Um, obviously that Olympics
will always be remembered, uh,
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because of the coronavirus. So, um,
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in some sort of way it’s in history. Um,
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but no, it was amazing. Uh,
unfortunately due to Covid,
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we lost our head coach, um,
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a few months before the games. Uh, so,
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so that made it a little bittersweet
and really, really hard for us.
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But, um, with that aside, it was
just an unbelievable experience,
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you know, just, uh, being
there with so many athletes,
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uh, of so many sports and just, uh,
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breathing the Olympic
atmosphere and then you
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see, uh, the village and the
facilities and the stadiums and, uh,
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unfortunately no people obviously
cause uh, they weren’t allowed. Um,
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but just like the Olympic
games are huge, like,
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and you don’t realize how huge
the event is until you’re right
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in the middle of it. There are
volunteers everywhere. Um, there’s, uh,
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just cameras everywhere and so
much media attention sponsors and,
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um, most amazing experience of my life.
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For sure. And did you get to share
that, that I read correctly? Was your,
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your cousin Alisa on the
team as well with you?
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Yeah, she was. And she also, uh,
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played college in Tallahassee at ccc.
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Wow, that’s awesome. That’s awesome.
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Was that extra meaningful to get
to share that with some, you know,
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a family member, someone
you’re close with?
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Yeah, for sure.
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And we played together in the club team
and we played together our whole life
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and we were also roommates during the
Olympics and all that, so that was, uh,
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definitely very fun for us and
for the whole thing from home.
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Greta, you’ve played a, as we
mentioned in the Olympics, um,
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you finished your collegiate career
at, uh, Texas a and m Corpus Christie,
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you’ve played a lot of places
at a lot of different levels.
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The game itself,
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does it kind of vary in the way it’s
played in different places or a softball
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kind of universal? Wherever,
uh, wherever it takes place.
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There is a lot. Like,
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it’s unbelievable how much
the same game can be. So d um,
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so with college software for example,
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I would say the main difference is
everyone is pretty much the same age.
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Um, so that makes it very
competitive with, um,
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within that age group. Uh,
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and that’s unique because when you
go and play internationally, um,
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age groups are all, uh, stacked
up together. So for example,
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now here in Japan, uh, we have, uh,
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players that are 19 and our older
players or twenties, uh, I mean 40.
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So that’s, uh, a huge range of ages also,
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like the speed of the game is
completely different. And, uh,
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I would say in the usa, uh, a lot,
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a huge part of the game is, uh,
big hitting The fields are shorter.
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Um, the, the bats are
definitely harder, uh,
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here in Japan it’s a fielding game,
it’s a pitching game, so faster,
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uh, Australia is also very different.
Europe is also very different and,
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uh, it’s very nice to see an experience.
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Yeah.
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Tell us us a little bit about this league
you’re playing in right now in the,
00:11:55.890 –> 00:11:59.570
uh, the Japan Diamond League. You
said it’s, it’s a rebrand league.
00:11:59.570 –> 00:12:02.050
Kinda what’s, uh, kind of,
00:12:02.050 –> 00:12:04.850
what’s the history there to your knowledge
and how and how did you get connected
00:12:05.160 –> 00:12:06.290
with, uh, this league?
00:12:06.400 –> 00:12:10.530
Yeah, so I got an offer to come
play Japan a few weeks, uh,
00:12:10.530 –> 00:12:14.410
after the Olympics. And um, uh,
00:12:14.560 –> 00:12:18.050
this is the first year of
the JD League. It is, uh,
00:12:18.050 –> 00:12:22.650
divided into pools, east
and west, and each pool has,
00:12:22.780 –> 00:12:25.120
uh, eight teams. Um,
00:12:25.120 –> 00:12:28.000
it’s extremely competitive and uh,
00:12:28.000 –> 00:12:32.400
the way software is set up over here
is that teams are owned by companies.
00:12:32.640 –> 00:12:36.280
Some of the most famous
ones would be Toyota Honda.
00:12:37.450 –> 00:12:42.200
Um, so these companies,
uh, own the teams and,
00:12:42.690 –> 00:12:46.480
um, the competition goes from, uh,
00:12:46.560 –> 00:12:49.560
March until June. Then we have
a little bit of a summer break,
00:12:49.560 –> 00:12:51.240
and then we resume in September.
00:12:51.240 –> 00:12:55.200
And we’re just about to
start playoffs right now. Uh,
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we are in a pretty good spot as a team,
00:12:57.060 –> 00:13:01.320
and this is the first time this
team has reached playoffs. So, uh,
00:13:01.330 –> 00:13:03.840
they’re so happy. Uh,
00:13:03.840 –> 00:13:08.640
you can breathe in enthusiasm
and hopefully we can do
good and deliver a couple
00:13:08.640 –> 00:13:11.500
more with, uh, reach the plan.
00:13:12.170 –> 00:13:15.020
Yeah, that’s awesome. Well, good,
good luck to you guys in the,
00:13:15.020 –> 00:13:19.220
in the post-season hunt. Greta, you
talked a little bit about your experience,
00:13:19.270 –> 00:13:23.780
uh, when you first arrived here and began
pitching for what was Polk Community
00:13:23.780 –> 00:13:27.100
College at the time. Um,
00:13:27.430 –> 00:13:31.820
is there anything that you kinda learned
here or any way you grew here that,
00:13:31.820 –> 00:13:35.540
that kind of sticks with you, uh,
today in your softball career?
00:13:36.070 –> 00:13:40.660
Uh, I definitely learned to
speak English, <laugh> <laugh>.
00:13:41.070 –> 00:13:44.860
So when I came over, my
English wasn’t very good. Uh,
00:13:46.960 –> 00:13:49.110
so the first, um,
00:13:49.650 –> 00:13:53.350
the first couple months were
a huge adjustment, just, uh,
00:13:53.350 –> 00:13:57.830
even just understanding that people were
telling me to do or telling me where to
00:13:57.830 –> 00:14:02.670
- Um, obviously like
learning how to, um,
00:14:02.670 –> 00:14:06.950
move around on campus and, uh,
00:14:06.950 –> 00:14:11.310
just understanding my classes
and understanding what
my professor telling me.
00:14:11.310 –> 00:14:13.830
Like if you ask my coach, uh, at the time,
00:14:13.830 –> 00:14:18.630
Jeff Val shout out to
coach, by the way, um,
00:14:18.630 –> 00:14:23.510
he would tell you I didn’t open
my mouth for about two months. Um,
00:14:23.720 –> 00:14:27.990
so yeah, that was one thing.
Just, uh, huge, huge adjustment,
00:14:28.400 –> 00:14:32.310
uh, to the language, to
the culture, uh, the food,
00:14:32.310 –> 00:14:35.630
even just going to Walmart,
you know, everything, uh,
00:14:35.630 –> 00:14:39.230
completely different and yeah, just, uh,
00:14:39.230 –> 00:14:44.190
learned to figure it out and be
on my own. Uh, cause obviously I,
00:14:44.190 –> 00:14:48.040
I didn’t have an interpreter
or, uh, I didn’t have, uh,
00:14:48.040 –> 00:14:52.880
family close by. Uh, so yeah, that
was the biggest thing I would say.
00:14:53.020 –> 00:14:57.200
You touched there kind of on something
that I think hearing a lot of student
00:14:57.200 –> 00:15:01.560
athletes who come from, um,
international country to, uh,
00:15:01.610 –> 00:15:05.360
to America. And I’m sure it would be
the same and vice versa if we had some,
00:15:05.360 –> 00:15:09.000
you know, American student athletes going
to compete internationally. But it’s,
00:15:09.000 –> 00:15:10.160
it’s this idea of,
00:15:10.170 –> 00:15:14.440
of kind of uprooting from the culture you
were raised in and grew and grown, uh,
00:15:14.440 –> 00:15:18.240
grew up in and then to come to
somewhere totally different, um,
00:15:18.240 –> 00:15:23.120
where the language you grew up speaking
is not spoken and it easy to be
00:15:23.120 –> 00:15:26.240
homesick too. Being far away from
family members and have heard that as a,
00:15:26.290 –> 00:15:30.000
as a big, um, obstacle
to wrestle through with,
00:15:30.000 –> 00:15:33.200
with a lot of student athletes I’ve gotten
to work with that come from different
00:15:33.200 –> 00:15:36.640
countries. And, you know, a
lot of times, you know, they,
00:15:36.640 –> 00:15:38.440
there’s kind of either
two paths, either they,
00:15:38.440 –> 00:15:41.960
they kind of find ways and find strength
to keep, to kind of push through,
00:15:41.960 –> 00:15:46.360
get connected or bring pieces of, of their
home country to where they’re at now.
00:15:46.740 –> 00:15:49.800
And there are some who, who
do uh, end up going back, uh,
00:15:49.820 –> 00:15:52.160
and cutting their career
short. I’ve seen that as well.
00:15:52.160 –> 00:15:56.520
So kind of who or what was helpful
and pivotal in getting you, uh,
00:15:56.520 –> 00:16:00.040
cuz obviously, you know, you stay,
you complete your, um, education and,
00:16:00.040 –> 00:16:03.080
and first two years at Polk State and
then go to Texas State and Corpus Christi.
00:16:03.080 –> 00:16:03.480
So who,
00:16:03.480 –> 00:16:07.200
who and what was kind of helpful for
you to kind of fight through maybe that
00:16:07.200 –> 00:16:08.600
home sickness and that transition?
00:16:08.790 –> 00:16:13.640
Yeah, I definitely remember
getting homesick a lot. Um,
00:16:13.900 –> 00:16:18.880
but you know, I think it really helped
me that I came in the spring semester.
00:16:19.770 –> 00:16:24.240
Um, my papers were a little
slow so I wasn’t, um,
00:16:24.890 –> 00:16:28.000
my papers were not ready in
time for the fall semester.
00:16:28.370 –> 00:16:33.240
So coming into the spring semester
we just dove right into the games and
00:16:33.240 –> 00:16:38.040
right into softball and I mean, we
played a lot of games in the spring,
00:16:38.040 –> 00:16:41.640
like it’s about 60 games or something. Um,
00:16:41.850 –> 00:16:46.400
so that definitely helped cause I
didn’t have much time on my own. Um,
00:16:46.940 –> 00:16:51.920
but yeah, coach Jeff, uh, he
was definitely a big part of um,
00:16:51.920 –> 00:16:56.720
just helping me through the home sickness
and it was his first year at Pop too,
00:16:56.720 –> 00:16:58.840
so, and he was able, uh,
00:16:58.850 –> 00:17:03.520
to create a very nice and
family environment and, um,
00:17:05.420 –> 00:17:10.240
yeah, in also the staff at um, bcc,
00:17:10.890 –> 00:17:14.400
uh, really helped like I remember, uh,
00:17:14.400 –> 00:17:19.180
Dean Lyle being big
help my classes and just
00:17:19.180 –> 00:17:22.780
the professors in general, you know,
with the fact that the classes are small.
00:17:26.320 –> 00:17:31.150
Um, uh, that definitely helped. Um,
that’s why I would really recommend,
00:17:31.440 –> 00:17:35.550
um, junior college for international
players who kind of wanna
00:17:36.140 –> 00:17:39.030
experience it for the first time. Uh,
00:17:39.030 –> 00:17:43.910
it kind of gives you more of a
friendly family environment that helps
00:17:43.910 –> 00:17:44.743
you with home.
00:17:44.950 –> 00:17:49.110
Greta one thing that
always fascinated me about
00:17:49.360 –> 00:17:51.520
pitching baseball,
00:17:51.520 –> 00:17:54.440
you’ll see a pitcher throw 80 pitches.
00:17:54.710 –> 00:17:57.840
They take him out cuz that
number’s getting high,
00:17:57.910 –> 00:17:59.880
they don’t pitch again for another week.
00:18:00.180 –> 00:18:03.120
And softball obviously the
throwing motion is different,
00:18:03.660 –> 00:18:08.520
but you’ll see pictures sometimes pitch
both games of a double header in 14
00:18:08.520 –> 00:18:13.120
innings. They throw 300 pitches.
You, you’ve done this for,
00:18:13.120 –> 00:18:17.000
for so long now. What’s kind
of been, uh, the secret to, uh,
00:18:17.000 –> 00:18:20.560
to your longevity in, in
keeping the, uh, the arm lively.
00:18:21.400 –> 00:18:26.160
<Laugh>? Oh, it happened to me,
I think it was my sophomore year.
00:18:26.930 –> 00:18:31.440
Um, we had a couple of injuries
with the other two pitchers, so,
00:18:31.890 –> 00:18:33.520
uh, it happened for,
00:18:33.520 –> 00:18:37.160
I think it was two weeks straight that
I had to pitch double headers, uh,
00:18:37.160 –> 00:18:41.360
conference games on
Tuesdays and Thursdays. Um,
00:18:41.460 –> 00:18:43.800
and it was tough, uh,
00:18:43.800 –> 00:18:47.680
but definitely we need
to be mentally ready. Um,
00:18:49.130 –> 00:18:49.720
it just,
00:18:49.720 –> 00:18:54.160
your body will tell you you’re tired
and your head has to tell your body that
00:18:54.160 –> 00:18:58.720
it’s not true <laugh>. And
then definitely a good, um,
00:18:59.830 –> 00:19:01.600
base work in the gym,
00:19:01.600 –> 00:19:05.560
the off season that really helps set up
00:19:06.150 –> 00:19:07.120
your whole season.
00:19:07.510 –> 00:19:11.000
Kind of just, you know, who
you are, things you enjoy,
00:19:11.110 –> 00:19:14.320
o other things that people might not
know about Greta that you’re passionate
00:19:14.320 –> 00:19:15.560
about outside of softball,
00:19:15.560 –> 00:19:19.800
what are some things that you enjoy
doing as well in your spare time or
00:19:19.800 –> 00:19:22.920
passionate about things that get
you excited outside of the game?
00:19:23.370 –> 00:19:27.080
Oh, well obviously I like
traveling <laugh>. Um,
00:19:27.380 –> 00:19:31.400
and like with softball
and being able to, um,
00:19:31.810 –> 00:19:35.320
be in so many countries, <inaudible>, um,
00:19:35.510 –> 00:19:39.680
like I’m doing a lot of day trips here
in Japan and every time we get a day off,
00:19:40.490 –> 00:19:44.760
um, I did, I did a little
bit of traveling, uh,
00:19:44.760 –> 00:19:49.640
in usa not as much as I would like
to because it pretty busy. Uh,
00:19:49.640 –> 00:19:54.360
I did a lot of traveling in Australia.
I played five seasons there. Um,
00:19:54.790 –> 00:19:59.120
I was able to visit Chicago
this summer when I was with au
00:20:00.050 –> 00:20:04.280
Um, but also I’d really like to stay home,
00:20:04.720 –> 00:20:08.120
relax, um, be on the couch, uh, you know,
00:20:08.120 –> 00:20:12.840
just taking advantage of the free
time I have, uh, to rest my body.
00:20:13.160 –> 00:20:16.480
Cause you know, I’m not
getting any younger, uh,
00:20:16.480 –> 00:20:21.040
and being an athlete gets harder
and harder every year. Um,
00:20:21.310 –> 00:20:23.440
I enjoy hiking. Uh,
00:20:23.830 –> 00:20:28.690
I like to do a little bit
of photography. Um, yeah,
00:20:29.380 –> 00:20:33.670
that’s mostly, I enjoy coffee.
I’m so happy here in Japan.
00:20:33.670 –> 00:20:38.390
They have so many Starbucks,
uh, everywhere. That’s a plus.
00:20:38.620 –> 00:20:40.950
That’s good. That is a,
that’s nice. Yeah, they,
00:20:41.230 –> 00:20:45.830
Starbucks finds a way to get themselves
everywhere I think. So that’s, uh,
00:20:45.830 –> 00:20:49.200
that’s awesome. What’s
your favorite? Uh, cuz I,
00:20:49.200 –> 00:20:52.440
I enjoy hiking as well and you
know, in, in Florida there’s really,
00:20:53.040 –> 00:20:56.270
there’s really nowhere to hike
to be honest. I mean, I consider,
00:20:56.420 –> 00:20:59.510
I think a hike requires some
sort of elevation and, uh,
00:20:59.510 –> 00:21:03.590
Florida is lacking in that. But, you
know, I’ve enjoyed hiking in, uh,
00:21:03.590 –> 00:21:06.150
the mountains of Georgia and North
Carolina, some of those areas,
00:21:06.150 –> 00:21:10.360
but what would you say it’s one of your
favorite areas you’ve gotten to hike?
00:21:10.470 –> 00:21:14.760
Definitely the Dolomites.
That’s my favorite place in
the world. So Italian ops,
00:21:15.250 –> 00:21:19.310
um, Northeast. Um,
00:21:19.660 –> 00:21:21.590
I try to go there every year.
00:21:21.590 –> 00:21:24.750
I’ve been going there with my
family since I was three months old.
00:21:25.170 –> 00:21:28.870
And every summer holiday we
would spend it out there. Uh,
00:21:29.080 –> 00:21:33.310
my grandparents do when I’m
older. Uh, I always try to find,
00:21:34.080 –> 00:21:38.430
uh, a few days to go out
there, find an abuser.
00:21:38.560 –> 00:21:42.790
So my <inaudible> and weather,
it’s great in the summer.
00:21:43.040 –> 00:21:46.310
So that’s definitely my favorite
place to be in entire world.
00:21:46.330 –> 00:21:49.710
And there’s no softball,
so that’s also relaxing.
00:21:49.910 –> 00:21:52.790
<Laugh>, we’re, we’re obviously
not professional athletes, but I,
00:21:52.790 –> 00:21:56.950
I can attest to, uh, not
getting any younger. Um,
00:21:57.470 –> 00:22:01.630
<laugh> you, you, you’ve had a
wonderful career in this sport.
00:22:02.040 –> 00:22:04.710
Ha have you thought about what
you’d like to do when, uh,
00:22:04.710 –> 00:22:06.110
when this is finally over for you?
00:22:06.560 –> 00:22:08.950
Uh, I think about it every day. <laugh>.
00:22:09.670 –> 00:22:10.503
<Laugh>.
00:22:10.540 –> 00:22:15.310
I’ve been thinking about it for a
long time. Um, so when I started my,
00:22:15.440 –> 00:22:20.430
uh, education, I, I decided
to go into psychology, uh,
00:22:20.430 –> 00:22:24.590
because it really fascinated me and I was
really interested in sports psychology
00:22:25.090 –> 00:22:26.510
and then, um,
00:22:27.340 –> 00:22:32.310
I decided to kind of put education
aside for a while just to focus
00:22:32.310 –> 00:22:34.550
on the sport. Um, and you know,
00:22:34.550 –> 00:22:39.430
just being in some space and it
was really hard to keep up with.
00:22:41.040 –> 00:22:45.230
Um, and I kind of just put it
off and put it off because, um,
00:22:45.700 –> 00:22:49.030
I just really wanted to
focus on the Olympics. Uh,
00:22:49.040 –> 00:22:52.790
so now that I got that out of the way, um,
00:22:53.700 –> 00:22:57.830
I am in the process of,
um, deciding what to do,
00:22:58.400 –> 00:23:02.990
um, when I grow up <laugh>
after my career is done.
00:23:03.920 –> 00:23:08.270
Um, just not ready to share it
or say out loud quite yet. Um,
00:23:09.080 –> 00:23:13.710
it probably one of the
easiest options for me would
00:23:13.990 –> 00:23:16.460
probably be coaching. Um,
00:23:17.870 –> 00:23:21.850
but maybe that would be
more like a hobby for me
00:23:22.720 –> 00:23:26.570
job. So we’ll see. Oh, a
lot of options are open.
00:23:26.850 –> 00:23:30.010
Greta, as we wind down
here, is there anything, uh,
00:23:30.500 –> 00:23:35.210
we didn’t ask about your time at Polk
or any uh, advice you would give to,
00:23:35.210 –> 00:23:36.250
to young athletes?
00:23:36.780 –> 00:23:40.010
Uh, go to class <laugh>,
00:23:40.510 –> 00:23:44.290
get your sleeping hours
- That’s a big one.
00:23:45.490 –> 00:23:48.200
Um, try to eat healthy, you know,
00:23:48.200 –> 00:23:51.920
all the classic thing people tell us when
we are young and then we don’t do it.
00:23:51.920 –> 00:23:55.360
And then we realize
when you’re 30, oh dang,
00:23:55.360 –> 00:23:59.360
if I had only gotten more sleep or, uh,
00:23:59.360 –> 00:24:04.320
should have more healthy, you
know, just, uh, think that, uh,
00:24:04.320 –> 00:24:08.040
you really take for granted
when you’re younger. But yeah,
00:24:08.180 –> 00:24:11.960
and one of the main thing I would
say, have fun, like be responsible,
00:24:11.960 –> 00:24:16.240
but have fun. Uh, college years are
really some of the best of your life,
00:24:16.290 –> 00:24:19.320
so just, uh, try to make the most of it.
00:24:19.320 –> 00:24:22.720
And sports is a great way to
make college a lot of fun.
00:24:23.430 –> 00:24:27.170
And you know, some of the
friendship you build on the field,
00:24:27.400 –> 00:24:31.610
that was different lifetime.
Uh, see, be responsible,
00:24:31.610 –> 00:24:34.290
but also try to have as much
fun as you can at the same time.
00:24:34.590 –> 00:24:38.890
You hear that kids listen
to your elders. Yeah. Yes.
00:24:39.010 –> 00:24:42.250
Leafy greens. That’s what we
need. Greta, this has been, uh,
00:24:42.250 –> 00:24:45.250
this has been a real, uh,
real pleasure having you, uh,
00:24:45.250 –> 00:24:48.210
you come on the pu cast this
morning. Uh, it, you know,
00:24:48.210 –> 00:24:51.690
we’ve really enjoyed talking to you.
We, we wanna thank you so much, uh,
00:24:51.750 –> 00:24:56.690
for just giving uh, us a few minutes
of your time. We know there’s a,
00:24:56.690 –> 00:25:00.970
a wide time difference between where we
are and, uh, where you are. And we’re,
00:25:00.970 –> 00:25:04.290
we’re just, we’re, we’re pleased
you, uh, you made this work.
00:25:04.570 –> 00:25:08.810
Thank you so much. It’s been
great to reconnect and, uh,
00:25:09.450 –> 00:25:14.430
<inaudible> all the teams the
upcoming season. Thank you so.
00:25:14.430 –> 00:25:17.190
Much. Awesome. Thanks Gretta.
Good luck to you in the playoffs.
00:25:17.390 –> 00:25:17.950
Thank.
00:25:17.950 –> 00:25:21.110
You. And thank you all for
listening. Uh, to the poll cast,
00:25:21.820 –> 00:25:26.070
I am Mike Ferguson with our
co-host, uh, Andrew too. Uh,
00:25:26.270 –> 00:25:28.750
thank you all for listening
and we’ll see you next time.
00:25:29.400 –> 00:25:33.350
Another free foam rock and
roll make, maybe want tap toe,
00:25:33.400 –> 00:25:37.310
another free foam rock roll Maybee.