This summer , senior Ali Aguilar had the opportunity to travel and play with the U.S. National Team and the USA Women's Elite Team. In this blog series she recaps her experiences during the summer of a lifetime...Â
I would describe my summer of 2016 as an unexpected journey full of amazing opportunities. As I finished up my junior year at the University of Washington I knew I still had more softball ahead of me because I was going to play for the USA Women's Elite team. I knew that I would be doing a training camp for a week in Oklahoma City from June 12-19, compete for the World Cup in July, and then travel down to Georgia a few weeks later for exhibition games. Therefore, I knew that about 3 weeks of my 3 months of summer were going to include playing the game I love while representing the country I love… not a bad gig! So, like always, I planned around my softball schedule to relax with family, hang out with friends, and go on other fun adventures back home in California. I knew that I would still have a lot of time to do things at home because I would only be traveling for 3 weeks of the summer.
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(All of the Pac 12 players on the USA Elite Team at the World Cup in Oklahoma City)
Before Wednesday training camp week I was thinking that I would be going home after that week was over and I would rest, recover, and hang out with family and friends for a while before I headed back for the World Cup. That quickly changed when I found out that instead of going back to California on Sunday I will actually be catching a flight to go to TOKYO for a week to compete with the Women's National Team! The summer of adventure has begun. We played a few games there against Japan, explored the city, and learned about the Japanese culture. After that I came back for a few days and returned to the Elite Team for the World Cup in Oklahoma City where we took 4th place. Yet again I had the idea in my head that I would be returning home to California to rest before one last trip with the Elite Team to Georgia. BUT, on one of the last days of the World Cup in Oklahoma City I met with Coach Erikson, head coach of USA, and he asked that I come with them within the next few days to go compete in the World Championship in Surrey, BC, Canada. Another great and unexpected opportunity was knocking. Even though my body and mind were so worn out from playing softball non-stop from January to July, I knew in my heart that I couldn't pass up this opportunity to compete with USA across my chest in the largest international tournament. Operation Gold starts now.
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THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. I still can't even believe I got to be a part of it. There were 31 countries in this tournament! Can you believe all the hard work it took to get 31 countries to come to Canada? There were some countries that were there without cleats, playing barefoot, and enjoying every second of it. When we played Israel the pitcher's mother was playing first base! Have you ever seen a team where the mother and daughter are on the same team? It was unheard of but soooo awesome. It was just so cool to see that softball could unite people from all over the world.
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(USA National Team photo with Ireland at World Championships)
It was also such a special experience because I felt like I had a part of my UW Tribe with me in Canada. Since we were playing in Vancouver, which is about 2 hours from Seattle, Coach Tarr and J.T. (D'Amico) came out to a few games which was awesome. Also, a few of my teammates, Rachel Ogasawara and Morganne Flores, came out to watch one of our games against Japan. I felt so blessed in those moments just to know that I have a true and supportive family at the University of Washington. Last but not least, I got to be there with a former UW shortstop and our current grad manager, Jenn Salling, along with my former teammate, Victoria Hayward. On top of that there were so many UW fans that would stop to say hi and I just felt right at home.
As the games began, our goal was to just win every single game. We didn't really even play around with the idea of losing… Like "if we win this game, then…" or "if we lose, then what?" We all just played to win, every single moment of every single pitch. Different people played at different times and different people came through at different times. We ended up winning every single game against 8 different countries, which led into the championship game against the rival, Japan. The jitters were there, and didn't settle in until we scored the first run of the game. (Details of the game can be found HERE) The score was 7-3 when we were down to the last out of the game. Despite the decent lead we had I still remember being so anxious because we just needed one out to become champions of the world. Annnnnnd we did it! As the last out of the game was made, everybody wearing USA was jumping and cheering with excitement.
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The ceremony was a special moment. USA across our chests, gold medals around our necks while listening to OUR national anthem. Our chests were up because we are proud of the country we play for. The United States of America are the 2016 WORLD champions of softball.
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After only two trips with this team I received a gold medal. But I know there are so many other girls on that team that have been working towards fulfilling this dream for over 4 years and I was just lucky enough to be a part of the dream coming true. All the credit is to the team, the coaches and everyone behind the scenes who led the way for USA Softball to become World Champions. I was so fortunate to be able to play alongside some of the most gifted softball players. Well, now the best softball players in the WORLD. We're not done yet, though. Next stop: Takasaki, Japan. Stay tuned for more…
 -Ali Aguilar
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It was also such a special experience because I felt like I had a part of my UW Tribe with me in Canada. Since we were playing in Vancouver, which is about 2 hours from Seattle, Coach Tarr and J.T. (D'Amico) came out to a few games which was awesome. Also, a few of my teammates, Rachel Ogasawara and Morganne Flores, came out to watch one of our games against Japan. I felt so blessed in those moments just to know that I have a true and supportive family at the University of Washington. Last but not least, I got to be there with a former UW shortstop and our current grad manager, Jenn Salling, along with my former teammate, Victoria Hayward. On top of that there were so many UW fans that would stop to say hi and I just felt right at home.
The ceremony was a special moment. USA across our chests, gold medals around our necks while listening to OUR national anthem. Our chests were up because we are proud of the country we play for. The United States of America are the 2016 WORLD champions of softball.
