Today, I supervised women’s baseball for the Pan Am games.  The sky was cloudy and there was a chance it would rain throughout practice.  When I arrived, the Venezuelan team was already out on the field practicing despite the poor weather conditions. Later, they would compete against Team Canada and Team USA.

I have never really seen a baseball game until today and had no idea what the rules of the game were so it was difficult to understand what was going on in the game but that didn’t really matter because I wasn’t there to be a spectator; I was there to be a therapist.

During practice, it finally started to pour. The players were all soaked but didn’t seem to care, frankly, I don’t think they noticed at all. They were deeply focused on their training, practicing their bating and catching techniques despite the wet conditions.

Being unfamiliar with the sport, I thoroughly enjoyed the chance of analyzing every movement of the athletes.  For the first time I witnessed a batter in full action, rotating her body gracefully in the air for the sake of a perfect hit. Although at first glance the movement seems to be all about arms, the whole body is working to execute the right amount of force on the ball. A batter is deeply influenced by core engagement, eye concentration and proper knee and pelvic involvement, all of these body parts must work in coordination to execute the right movement.

Later in the day I had the chance to meet some of the members of Team Canada. The girls were young and athletic, mostly all blonds and spoke French to each other. They were playful, fun and energetic.  I can only imagine how exciting the chance to play the Pan Am games must be for them. Not wanting to interrupt their off time before the game, I wished them success in the upcoming days.

That’s all for now, until the next game!

Shahla