Bandits pitcher: Sure, this is tough -- but it's worth it
• Editor's note: Kristina Thorson is a pitcher with the Chicago Bandits, who play their home games at Judson University.
I live a tough life.
I can't get a "real" job, because I leave for four months of every year.
I get beat up at work during the summer. I come home from work with bruises, aches, pains, headaches, etc. However, I would not want things any other way.
I get to play softball for a job every summer. When I get home at night I may hurt, but there is no better feeling in the world than coming off a game with your team, knowing you've done everything you could to be victorious.
The Chicago Bandits are a professional softball team that competes in National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). Currently we are coming off a sweep on the road against the Rockford Thunder, with a record of 20-4.
I am Kristina Thorson, a pitcher for the Bandits. Originally from Seattle, WA, I now live northern California most of the year. I graduated and played at California-Berkeley, a part of the PAC-10 conference. To many, the PAC-10 is the pinnacle of softball in college.
I've learned that the level of the NPF is far beyond the level of any one conference or team in college. The women in this league are the best of the best - and finding people to fill our stands is what will keep our team, our league, our profession, alive.
I want to see our league survive so that there is a future in professional sports for female softball players. So the players and our staff have taken it upon us to become a bigger part of the community. We've done clinics, gone to countless tournaments, made appearances at restaurants, stores, charity events, and the list goes on and on. Being a Bandit means reaching out to the community.
Yes, we want to fill our stands. But we want to fill our stands now so that there is a tomorrow so the girls in Little League, ASA, and USSSA today can dream of playing for the Chicago Bandits in the NPF, 10 or 15 years from now.
It's a tough life, but I love the life of a Bandit.