By: Matt Long,
Tuesday, May 15, 2007, Greg Ashman/The Telegraph
Olympic gold medalist Jennie Finch visited El Dorado Hills last week when she and seven Olympic teammates put on a softball camp for 300 girls who came from all over the country.
The first Jennie Finch Softball Camp held at Oak Ridge High School over the weekend was a smashing success.
Finch, a pitcher on the 2004 USA Olympic softball team that won the gold medal, visited El Dorado Hills with seven Olympic teammates and instructed 300 players from all over the nation on not only how to play like a champion, but how to live like one too.
The camp drew players from Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, Michigan and Alaska, as well as Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and California.
"We're going to teach them all aspects of the game, from bunt slapping to base running, pitching, hitting, fielding and everything else," Finch said prior to the camp beginning. "Mostly, we want to give the girls a vision for their future. We want them to know that if they're dedicated and work hard that their dreams can come true. Softball has taught us so much about life and we want to pass that on to them."
Among those players joining Finch included Crystl Bustos, Natasha Watley, Laura Berg, Toni Mascarenas and Lauren Lappin.
Finch said she would have loved to have met Olympians when she was a teenager, so she told the campers to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Pick our brains, ask us lots of questions," Finch told the players at the start of the camp. "You're being instructed by the best softball players in the world. We're excited for the weekend and I hope you are too."
