About 20 to 30 years ago, athletic opportunities for females were limited. All the resources -- equipment, funds, coaches, playing fields and such -- were devoted to boys' and men's sports.
In 2004 you'll find that women's participation in high school and college sports has increased dramatically. There's even a national cable network, CSTV: College Sports Television, which televises women's sports such as basketball, softball, ice and field hockey, lacrosse, water polo, gymnastics, volleyball and more. I am an on-air analyst for that network.
The increased opportunities for women in sports enabled me to succeed at St. Lucy's Priory High School in La Verne, which in turn led to a softball scholarship to UCLA. While at UCLA, I was named All-American four times, was Pac-10 player of the year three times and hit an NCAA record of 90 career home runs.
My college experience earned me a spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic softball squad. We are currently competing against the country's finest softball teams as part of our "Aiming for Athens" tour, which we hope will lead us to victory at the Olympics this August. If we succeed, it will be my second gold medal, as I was a member of the U.S. Olympic softball team that won the gold medal in 2000.
With unprecedented opportunities and support, the sky is the limit for female athletes today. Who knows? You could be the one representing the United States at the 2008 or 2012 Olympics.
