Another Year Brings New Challenges, But Olympic Payoff Is Worth It For Softball Star Cat Osterman

I had grown up on Team USA, having joined the USA Softball national team program in 2001 as a 18-year-old. It was my home for 10 years.

So at the end of 2017, when one of my best friends and Olympic teammates, Kelly Kretschman, approached me and said: “You know you want to play again,” the wheels began to turn.

“Maybe,” I replied. “But I don’t want to have to give up my coaching job.”

Being the loyal friend she is, and having worked at Texas State with me two years before, Kelly approached my boss at the school, Ricci Woodard, and let her know that she thought I still wanted to play, but I wouldn’t broach the issue.

Before I knew it, on the way home from a recruiting trip, my boss said, “If you want to try and play in the Olympics again, we’ll figure out how to make it work.”

That was the push I needed. I made phone call to family, friends and USA Softball. I thought I could pitch well enough to help Team USA compete for another gold medal.

Coming out of retirement, I trained enough where I could throw in the bullpen just fine. But it was game situations or hitters standing in — that competitive element — that I needed more of. I had been off the field for over three years. While the competitive fire is the same, it’s not like riding a bike where you just jump back on and all of a sudden remember how to handle everything.

Because of this, at first I looked at the postponement of the Games as another year to train; more time to get ready. Hopefully more game situations. USA Softball also provided some relief by announcing the Olympic team for 2020 will remain in place for 2021.

But to be honest, lately, it’s been tough.

Some days 12 months look like a mountain. If I take too many days off now, it’s harder to get going again than I was younger, so I try not to take too many breaks. When you have a goal or a dream, the long breaks can wait.

I know what the next three months will look like — some of us on the national team have taken up an opportunity with a pro endeavor called Athletes Unlimited stateside — but after that, because of COVID-19, that’s about all I know.

The unpredictability of it is keeping me on my toes.

For now, as we continue to stay close to home, I’ll keep walking my neighborhood each week and keep on tending to my new hobby in the backyard. We’ve constructed two new raised garden beds during quarantine — my squash and zucchini have already produced and died off, but we’ve still got some jalapeño peppers, bell peppers and tomato plants going.

And when it’s finally time to board the plane for Tokyo, I’ll look over at my teammates, most of whom are making their Olympic debuts, and tell them to soak it all in. To stop and smell the roses (or jalapeño peppers, in my case). To recollect themselves. To let themselves play loosely in an environment they’ve been dreaming so much to become a part of, with the entire world watching.

That’s the moment my Olympic career will come full circle, even if it’s now in 2021.