Softball has been cut from the 2012 Olympic ticket. The pressure is on this two-time Olympic champion to lead the team to another golden performance.
By Lauren Verrusio
Published: July 22, 2008
In a few weeks, an American softball legend, catcher
Stacey Nuveman, will step onto the field at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing as the entire world looks on. She will bow her head and smooth the dirt with the toe of her cleat. She will close her eyes and place her hand over her heart, and take a deep breath.
One more chance at Olympic gold.
Nuveman’s motto of “Dream Big” has never seemed quite this real.
A sure product of Title IX, Nuveman picked up the game at the age of 10. A naturally strong athlete, she signed with the best collegiate program in the country and went on to lead UCLA to countless victories. She proved her mettle as a junior in college, making her debut at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Heavy favorites, the U.S. team had a rocky start to the tournament. Facing elimination, Nuveman belted a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to defeat China. The USA squad went on to claim gold.
Without the same level of drama, the USA Softball women took home gold four years later in Athens. They so dominated the competition, that Sports Illustrated put the team photo on the cover and dubbed them the new “Dream Team.”
This time around in Beijing, the stakes are even higher, as the International Olympic Committee voted to oust softball from the 2012 Olympic Games.
“It is devastating for everyone in the women’s athletics community,” said Nuveman in a recent interview.
Compound the pressure to bring home what could be the last Olympic softball gold medal with getting back into shape after giving birth to a child. Just one year ago, Nuveman and her husband welcomed their son, Chase, into the family. Eight months later, Nuveman has discovered “a whole new meaning in getting back on the horse” in preparing for Beijing.
“I think I can – no, I know I can get to that medal stand and have it all: wife, mother, gold medalist,” Nuveman said. “I can be an example for the mothers of the world through softball, an example for any woman out there to accomplish their goals professionally while still having a family.”
Despite the relentless training of an Olympic athlete and the responsibilities of a new family, Nuveman looks to the Games as a victory to be able to play for a gold medal with Chase and her family beside her. Knowing all too well, these Games will represent more than just a few seven-inning shows.
“Being back to the level I was at, making my team better with Chase and my family watching on, I’m able to write chapters of my life’s novel as I go,” said Nuveman.
“When I say ‘dream big,’ I dream big today – I dream big every day. Some athletes say ‘do what I did’ – I say ‘do what I’m doing.’ I’m dreaming big right now.”
Tune into
NBCOlympics.com for television schedules and updates on Stacey Nuveman and the U.S. women’s softball team