The fastpitch softball world got some great news this week, as our sport will once again be included in the Olympic Games for 2028. I’m sure it comes as no surprise since the games will be held in Los Angeles and the U.S. is essentially home territory for softball.

Still, nothing is ever a given, so I’m glad to see our sport (as people like to say) will be part of the world’s biggest sports showcase. Hopefully we’ll be able to avoid another worldwide pandemic just prior to the Olympics so there can actually be fans in the stands to see the competition and cheer their teams on.

Of course, with every wish comes a curse. In this case, if past patterns hold, it means beginning this year USA Softball will divert nearly all of its attention to putting a team together to compete at the 2028 games and providing all the logistical support that requires.

The result is the youth levels (with the possible exception of the most elite players) as well as the men’s game (yes, for those of you who don’t know there actually still is men’s fastpitch softball too) will receive scant if any attention for the next five years.

Hope I’m wrong. But I wouldn’t bet against it if I were you.

In any case, as we look forward to watching softball return to the Olympics in 2028, here are a few things I’d like to see.

A new crop of players

Let’s be honest: as exciting as it was to see softball in the 2020 Olympics, it also kind of resembled an Old Timer’s game. Many of the marquee players on the top teams had actually participated the last time softball was in the Olympics.

No disrespect to those long-time players. They were and are tremendous athletes, inspirations, and ambassadors for our sport. I salute them all.

But there are many exciting young players who now deserve an opportunity to wear their countries’ jerseys and fulfill their dreams of competing in the most visible softball games in the world. I look forward to getting to know them throughout the games.

Softball actually be part of the Olympics

While technically softball was part of the 2020 games, the reality is the gold medal had already been awarded by the time all the other participants marched in the parade and lit the torch. It was kind of a slap in the face to our sport, in my opinion.

It was like saying, “Ok you can play, but you have to be done before the REAL Olympics begin.”

This time around I hope to see the games integrated into the two or so weeks that the rest of the events occur. Doing so will maximize the audience by bringing in more casual viewers (most people who watched softball in 2020 were us, the die-hard fanatics) and provide a little more validation of our sport’s place on the world stage.

Announcers who actually understand the sport and its nuances

Much as we love to see fastpitch softball on TV in any capacity, a lack of quality in the announcers covering the game can definitely take away from the enjoyment of the broadcast. At least for those of us who live and breathe the sport.

I’m sure it doesn’t bother the casual observer when, say, a high pitch with bullet spin is called a “riseball” when in fact it is just a high fastball. Or that same bullet spin ends up on the outside corner and it’s called a curve even though it didn’t break even an inch off its normal path.

But those of us who love the sport really would like to see a more accurate appraisal of what is going on.

To that point, I personally would like to see a little more honest analysis of what’s happening on the field instead of the boosterism that normally occurs.

If a knowledgeable expert in the booth thinks a team’s strategy is bad, say so! If an error is made because a player lost focus or made a poor decision, call it out.

That’s what the most popular announcers in all sports do. John Madden never hesitated to call out a boneheaded play (or play call) when he was doing NFL games. Bob Uecker made a career out of telling the (mostly) unvarnished truth during games.

That doesn’t mean announcers need to be hyper critical. But they don’t have to have the Pollyannaish approach we typically hear either.

If announcers call ’em like the see ’em, and make sure to do their homework so they really know what they’re talking about, I think it will be a better, more credible experience for everyone.

The USA change its offensive philosophy

Obviously this one is specific to my favorite team, and the host team, but the offensive approach in the 2020 games was a disaster. Mostly because it seemed to be stuck in the ’80s or ’90s.

It appeared to me that the starting lineup in 2020 was selected for its defensive prowess, as if the people making the selections were expecting a lot of 1-0 or 2-1 games.

Those days are gone. Better equipment, better skills training, better strength and conditioning, rules changes, and more have made today’s game one where you need to put at least a half dozen runs on the board if you plan to win.

That means no more automatically trying to sac bunt a runner to second when the first batter gets on base. IIRC, the U.S.A. team wasted its best hitter by having her bat in the two position and then automatically bunt when the leadoff hitter got on base.

When she finally got a chance to swing the bat she was putting up extra base hits consistently. Imagine if she had done that with a runner on first and no outs!

Having bats in the lineup also gives you a chance to come back if you fall behind. Playing the short game when you’re down three runs in the fifth inning just punches your ticket out faster.

The selection committee needs to invite players who can flat-out hit, and choose a coaching staff that understands how to let them do what they do best instead of trying to fit them into an outdated model.

A little spectacle

Fastpitch softball is a very fan-friendly sport. Much more so than watching athletes run around a track or chuck heavy objects (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Let’s treat it that way. One of the things that keeps softball out of the Olympics is that some on the Olympic Committee feel it isn’t universal enough, i.e., viewers in non-softball countries won’t tune in to see it.

Give it a little extra pizzazz in the presentation, with some knowledgeable explanation of what’s happening and an eye toward showing non-softball countries how much fun it is to play, and maybe, just maybe, we won’t have to wait another eight or more years to see softball in the Olympics again.

Olympic rings image by Vusi vilanculos, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons