Abbott & Watley take on Japan

What do you do after winning an Olympic silver medal?

While some members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic softball team took coaching positions at various universities and prepared to play for their domestic professional leagues, two of the players set their sights a little farther away-in Japan.

Shortly after the 2008 Beijing Olympics-where Team USA lost to Japan in the gold-medal game-pitcher Monica Abbott and shortstop Natasha Watley agreed to play for the Toyota Motor Corporation team in the Japan league for the 2009 season.

"It came about by pursuing the possibility of continuing to play professionally at a high competitive level," said Watley, who was also part of the gold-medal winning U.S. squad at the 2004 Athens Olympics, in an e-mail.

Abbott, who became the first American pitcher to throw a perfect game in the Olympics during an 8-0 victory against the Netherlands in the 2008 Games in Beijing, was just excited to play another six months.

"Japan has a thriving pro league and I wanted to take the opportunity to expand my knowledge of their style of play, and get to play six more months out the year," Abbott said. "The timing was good also, so that I would still be able to compete for Team USA."

The Japanese season is broken into two, three-month periods, with one session in the spring and the other in the fall. They have a three-month break between the sessions. Abbott and Watley, the only two USA Softball players who are part of the Japan league, will be back in the United States June 8-12 for a Team USA training camp at the U.S. Olympic Committee's training center in Chula Vista, Calif.

Both Abbott and Watley hope to compete for Team USA in the World Cup of Softball presented by KFC July 16-20 in Oklahoma City. The event will feature six countries, including Japan, the United States, Australia and Canada --- the top-four finishers at the Beijing Olympics --- and Italy and the Netherlands.

To prepare for games, they have all-day practices. Watley said Team Toyota usually starts practice around 9 a.m. They then break for lunch before continuing to practice again in the afternoon until about 4 p.m. After practice, the players participate in a running or a strength workout that typically lasts about an hour.

After a long day, Watley and Abbott usually go home and make dinner together. In her blog, Watley said she and Abbott usually make chicken, pasta, steak and rice. They have also ventured out to some Japanese restaurants, where the two-time Olympic medalist said she's tried sushi and seafood.

But while the two Californians have enjoyed sampling some Japanese dishes, they are also missing some tastes of home. Watley, of Irvine, Calif., is craving any and all Mexican food --- everything from chips and salsa, to enchiladas and burritos. Abbott, who hails from Salinas, Calif., wants barbeque chicken, chips and salsa and "a good salad."

Although the players have missed some of their favorite foods, they have acclimated to life in Japan fairly well. In her blog, Watley said the U.S. players are living in the foreign dorm where employees from outside the country stay. The four-time All-American shortstop at UCLA said the rooms are the size of a "typical college dorm" but the space is utilized well to contain a washer and dryer, refrigerator, microwave, hot stove/plate, kitchen sink, rice cooker, bathroom, television, and "plenty of storage space."

While the Americans are getting used to the food and the living conditions, there is one aspect of life in Japan both players have struggled with-the language.

"There's an interpreter, but by far, there's still things lost in translation," Abbott said. "I've picked up some Japanese, and with the little bit of English the girls know, we talk to each other like we are 5 years old!"

Watley has faced the same issues.

"I have to communicate with my Japanese teammates in half Japanese and half English, which has been difficult at times," said Watley, who hit .321 while batting leadoff for the United States during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

But, while communicating has been difficult, there is a benefit-the players are learning some Japanese.

 "I have picked up a lot of Japanese," Watley said. "The word I tend to use a lot is 'gumba,' which means 'fight!' I also use 'syko' which means 'let's go!' "

 Abbott has been picking up the basics.

 "The words we use the most are: what, why, OK, excuse me, hello, good evening, good morning, etc.," said Abbott, a former University of Tennessee standout. "It's fun to learn." 

In addition to learning some of the language, the U.S. Olympians have also taken time to enjoy some of Japan's sites.

"We saw Mt. Fuji, but the coolest thing we did was go to a cherry blossom festival," Abbott said. "It was absolutely gorgeous."

Watley also spent time checking out the auto industry.

"I think the coolest thing we have done so far is going to the Toyota plant and see what has made them so successful over the years," Watley said.

Aside from touring some of Japan's most famous spots, the players also have gotten a chance to learn and see things about the country they didn't previously know.

"It is surprising to me that Japan is very clean, but they don't have trash cans anywhere," Watley said. "As a citizen, you are responsible for taking your own trash home and disposing of it."

For Abbott, she was most impressed with the attitudes and personalities of the Japanese.

"The most surprising thing is how nice and accommodating the people are,'' Abbott said. "I don't think they like the word 'no.' "

Yet, despite the differences between the two cultures, Abbott said there are also core similarities. 

"We all have the same goal and focus even if we don't understand each other," Abbott said. "People suffer from the same issues."

The American players and their Japanese teammates also share something else-an understanding and an enjoyment for the game of softball.

Although the United States has won three of the four gold medals awarded in the Olympic softball competition, Japan took gold in Beijing, silver in 2000 and a bronze in 2004.

These days, however, a sampling of players from both nations is taking the field together as Team Toyota teammates.

Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc. Mary Motzko is a freelance contributor for teamusa.org. This story was not subject to the approval of the United States Olympic Committee or any National Governing Bodies.