People :
Played at the 2nd Women's Collegiate World Championships for Softball!
Ms. Chiemi Uchida

Ms. Chiemi Uchida Born 1985 in Saitama Prefecture. Graduated from Hoshino High School. Currently a junior at the School of Sport Sciences. Winner of the inter-high school athletic competition for her 2nd and 3rd year. Chosen as a Japanese representative for the 2nd Women's Collegiate World Championships for Softball in July 2006, and won the bronze medal. Has contributed to the Women's Softball Club's victory at the inter-collegiate championships. Her hobbies are watching sports and listening to music.

Hitting a home run in the world championships, Ms. Uchida was surprised - her reaction was, “Oh, it flew into the stands - I hit a home-run!” She stepped on home base with feelings of joy and surprise mixed together. She had entered the trials with a feeling that she might not pass, or, as she put it, “just to go and see the top-level players and their skills.” However, she passed, and went to Taiwan this summer as a Japanese representative. She played well, fully meeting the expectations of the people around her, and contributing to the acquisition of the bronze medal by the Japanese team.

“Everybody in the team was so kind. I was really lucky to play with them. All the members were so nice. Although the European and American players tend to be physically taller, and more gifted in their athletic abilities, I felt that the Japanese team was the steadiest and in perfect union as a team. It was such a good team, so I didn't want to leave it!” she laughed.

Ms. Uchida's younger brother is the captain of the baseball team in his high school, and this year his team went to Koshien (the high school baseball championships, held at Koshien Stadium every summer). Her mother also played softball in an inter-high school athletic competition. Uchida herself started to play softball in the 4th grade of elementary school. Her motto is “Always smile.” Perhaps it is her sunshine smile that brings luck, for Uchida is very often blessed with nice teammates. Uchida says that “In both elementary school and junior high school, I belonged to strong teams which later became legendary. After I graduated from high school, I felt tired, and I thought that I would just play for fun in college. But somehow, by accident, there were many strong players in the club team that year, so I ended up playing seriously.”

Last year, her club, the Women's Softball Club, went to the inter-collegiate championships - something they had been aspiring to. This year, they actually won the Champion's flag. “Everybody in our club really gets on with each other; we are a really close team. When we go to matches, players of the opposing teams are envious of our esprit de corps! Maybe we got good results because we play naturally and freely.” Uchida also contributed to the high morale by telling them of what she learned at the World Championships. “The one thing I worry about is, as the team becomes stronger, it will be more uncomfortable for beginners to play in the club. Our general coach, Mr. Yoshimura, often says that “Our treasure is our members,” and I really want to retain the atmosphere in our club that allows beginners to come and join us freely,” says Uchida, with her energetic smile. Maybe it is the strong ties of trust with her teammates that gives her the strength to play good softball.