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Why is Japan absolutely dominant in softball?
We've (Team USA Softball) has lost to Japan in the past two Olympic Gold Medal games and it's about time we talk about WHY!
None other than Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist, Natasha Watley, is the PERFECT person to ask this question to as she has spent the last 13 years (after her 2008 Silver Medal) playing and now coaching in Japan inside their professional league.
The Japanese culture have mastered these two things:
DISCIPLINE - They practice 6+ hour practices every single day and they treat it as a full-time JOB which it is!
RESPECT - not only do they bow to the field before every practice and game they compete in, they give the most respect to the game by becoming as great as they can be at it. --and THAT is their biggest motivation
Now you may not know this, but teams in Japan are owned by LARGE corporations (like Honda and Toyota which we've all heard of) and their pro teams are a large line item in their budget because their mission is to be able to...
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Ashley Burkhardt Egel
Author
Hey, I'm Ashley! Since picking up a softball at the age of 7, I have experienced just about every realm of the game from little league, travel ball (with my dad as my coach), to playing at the college and professional level and I can't wait to teach you some lessons I've learned from the game in this blog!
Check out a few of my favorite softball tools!
I've created a list of some of my favorite mindset books, hitting tools and some must-have hacks to help make your softball experience the best it can!
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