JULY 24, 2021: NOTHING LIKE A 5:30 WAKE UP CALL TO START OFF THE DAY!
I remember leaving college softball and being so excited for international softball because they never plays early games, HA! Guess the joke is on me!
First thing I did when I woke up was spit in my COVID tube and then had a quick breakfast. My go-to quick breakfast is a banana with peanut butter and an orange juice! We walked to the bus for a nice little 40 minute ride over to Yokohama Stadium! This might be the most beautiful stadium I have ever played in. It absolutely is killing me to not have fans filling it BUT I know that there are so many people tuning in from home. The undying support all the way from North America has been so amazing! On the bus I got my routine of music before we get to the stadium. People always ask what I listen too or if I’m superstitious about what song is playing. Personally, I am not a huge music person but I do have the AirPods in and getting good vibes through the beat of some tunes. Of course listening to a Canadian singer in Justin Bieber! Right before I get off the bus I do have one thing that I have to watch before every game. Have you guys heard of Pitch Perfect? Well… growing up every morning before school I would walk out to the kitchen for breakfast and my dad would ALWAYS be watching The Riff Off scene. I’m talking like EVERYDAY for a whole school year. It absolutely cracked me and my siblings up. So when our sports psych recommended watching or listening to something that brings you back to a nap out memory I couldn’t help but think about all those mornings jamming out to the Riff Off before school! Quick shout out to my dad for always being aca-awesome and putting a smile on my face!
I’m headed for warm ups folks, you guys already know who you should be cheering for.. LET’S GO CANADA!!
WHAT A GAME! If you guys didn’t catch the game today we had a huge win over Australia, 7-1! A little background on the history between Canada and Australia. They have been a thorn in our sides for a very long time! Getting the bronze medal in the 08’ games over us and beating us in big international games. They are gritty, resilient and strong. You can always guarantee a quality game out of them. So being said, it felt great to put the gas on and score a lot of runs, have awesome defense and a stellar pitching performance!
After the we got back to the village we hopped into some ice baths to prep for the next three days. Four games in four days played at such a high intensity definitely takes a lot out of your body. Even being the youngest on the team I still feel how sore my body gets so I can’t even imagine being in my 30’s! So impressive.
Later in the evening we prepared for Japan. We have a pretty good idea who we are seeing in the circle. Their ace, Ueno. Who if you don’t know beat the USA in the gold medal game in 2008! She is an absolute stud! But of course we are going to trust the process, our hard work we have put in and believe in our preparation. Team C is playing our best softball right now, so keep believing, cheering, loving and grinding with us! It’s going to be a great one tomorrow! I hope everyone can tune in and I don’t even have to say it but I will because this is my journal entry.. LET’S GOOO CANADA!!
Until next time, love you all from afar!
Kelsey Harshman (Jenkins) was a standout softball and soccer player at Sabino before she went on to star for Wisconsin where she earned multiple recognitions:
Three-time Academic All-Big Ten (2016, 2017, 2018)
First three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection in program history
2017 All-Big Ten Defensive Team
NCAA Tournament All-Region Team
NFCA Great Lake All-Region second team (2017, 2018)
First freshman in UW history to be named First-team All-Big Ten (2015)
2016 Best Offense Award (UW Coaches)
2015 Canadian Junior Women’s National Team
Besides multiple appearance for Canada, Harshman also played for the Canadian Wild of the NPF and she was part of Athletes Unlimited.
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