Two Female Athletes Share the Spotlight in a Male Sport

Whose to say that any sport is a "male sport"? The incredible story of two young girls facing each other in a sport widely known as a popular mens sport is a perfect demonstration of how a female is just as athletic and capable of performing any sport that are performed by male athletes. Young Marti Sementelli of Lake Balboa Birmingham and Ghazaleh Sailors of San Marcos faced each other on the pitchers mound last saturday and took the crowd by surprise with their amazing talent.

Before these two young athletes stepped up to the challenge, history has shown us that women in the past have also had their share of interest in many sports that were being played only by men because it was believed that women had too much to risk as an athlete or they simply did not meet the standards of a "strong, competitive athlete". Both Sailors and Sementelli not only proved that they have what it takes to compete against male athletes but may even be better than them at the sport they are playing, in this case it was baseball. The admiral aspect of these two athletes is that not only were they capable of winning a priority position in a "male sport", but they are respected by their teammates and their coach.

Sementelli and Sailors, much like many female athletes in the past, did not have the easiest path to cover before reaching their goals and it takes an even greater person, rather than an athlete, to be able to accept the obstacles and continue fighting for what they believe in. It is thanks to stand-out athletes such as Sementelli and Sailors that young female athletes find in them role models and are also encouraged to fight for their athletic goals, or any goal for that matter.

Sementelli's quote says it all when it comes down to never giving up: "I'm not one to take the easy route if it means giving up something I love". -Marti Sementelli of Birmingham

-Elizabeth Ledezma

Kinesiology 338I-section 04