Resilience Cafe

Resilience Café
Olivia Marquez

“The main thing is to care, care very hard, even if it’s just a game” is an important thing Billie Jean King said. She is right, no matter what you’re doing you have to care. You also have to strive for better. “If better is possible, then good is not enough” is one thing that my nana always says to our softball team and me. They both always did the best they could in anything. Whether it was coaching, playing tennis, playing softball or basketball, they never gave up. They both inspired others and they also inspired me. My nana has always pushed me to try my hardest, and Billie Jean King inspired me to fight for what I believe in.
Billie Jean King went through a lot. She was judged just because she was a woman. She had to prove she was good enough to play with the men, and she did. She was the first woman to win Wimbledon in 1996 and she even beat Bobby Riggs, who is another champion in tennis. She was named one of the 100 most important Americans of the 20th century. As she was growing up, she played softball but since she knew that there was no future in women’s softball (that has changed now), her parents introduced her to tennis in her teens. She grew quite fond of it and continued to play. She became one of the best women of her age. People said that it wasn’t right for her to play a man’s sport. She played even harder to prove that she was good enough, and that women are as good as men. In 1966, Billie Jean King became Wimbledon’s first female champion. She won for every woman who was said no to in sports. She proved that women were as good as men in any sport. Billie Jean King once said, “Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action in a place of total tranquility.” I think she meant that you shouldn’t go easy on your opponent; you should always do your best. Even though it looks violent, it’s just how you play.
My nana, on the other hand, didn’t win any big championships, but she did win many other things, many other awards that are just as good. My nana grew up playing basketball from elementary school through college, but she only played basketball because it was the only sport that girls could play in school at the time but she loved it anyway. In college she became the captain. After playing for so long, her knees became weak. She was unable to play, anymore She eventually tried playing again, but still wasn’t like it used to be. It was hard because basketball was her favorite sport. She moved to California and started playing tennis. She joined a club in Mission Bay and loved it. She played tennis all the time with her friends, but since tennis is a sport where you have to run, she was unable to play as much. Her knees couldn’t stand it anymore. But while she was playing tennis, she also played softball for a little bit and she loved it, also. She became the coach of her own team. On June, 14,1994 the answer to her prayers had come out of Lorena Horton (my mom). The reason she would continue softball was named Olivia. Her life was not complete without sports and without an adorable granddaughter. My nana became my t-ball coach. She taught me the basics and moved toward the advanced. She showed me everything I know today about softball (not including pitching). She always said, “If better is possible then good is NOT enough”. Every year she would make that our team motto. She inspired so many girls to play softball, and she treated each new kid like she had known them for years. When she was 50, she discovered rowing. She loves rowing because it’s a beautiful sport; it keeps you in great shape. She now rows 5 time a week(and still is my softball coach, she has many medals. So even though they had different lives, they still went through obstacles to play the sports they loved.
Both these strong women made me realize that I should always stand up for what I believe in and always, always try my hardest in anything. I feel like that I should also inspire girls and boys to always strive for better, and I will fight for the cause. When I’m in high school, I am going to volunteer as an assistant coach for my softball league. I hope someday I will become as good of a coach as my nana is. Its important to continue what they did because I’m sure in the future, there will be cases where women wont be able to do something only because they are woman (I hope not though). Hopefully I will be the first woman to do something big. Billie Jean King and My nana to me are two very important women to me, and they will be remembered for their legacies and honor.