Everybody wants to be good at something.
It’s that something that defines us; that separates us from the rest of the crowd. It’s the one thing we can say “Hey, I can do this” and be proud of it.
Sometimes it’s something we’re naturally good at, and sometimes it’s something we want to be good at even if we aren’t blessed with natural ability.
Natasha Lindsey wanted to be a good softball player. Her mom remembers her daughter growing up at the baseball field very well.
“Tasha has always had a knack for quickly understanding sports. Her dad is a former semi-pro baseball catcher, so I think he passed down his love of the game. I remember when she was seven years old and her dad was coaching her brother’s Little League Team, she asked, ‘Mommy, how many feet is there between each base?’ I remember thinking, ‘What seven year old girl wants to know that?’! Most girls were playing dolls, while Tasha was on the sidelines watching her brother’s baseball practice!”
But, in terms of a sport that requires strength to drive through a ball, Natasha was a bit on the small side.
“When she was born she was only 17 inches long and weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces. She quickly gained A LOT of weight and was so chubby that she had fat rolls on her arms and legs! To bath her, I had to fold back the rolls and the wash cloth would find lint that had collected while she was crawling around during the day. To see her today, you would have never thought she was a chubby baby.”
Eventually the fat rolls gave way to bone and muscle to reveal a talented girl with a strong arm.
“I played outfielder but my passion was pitching. I was always the smallest player so I had to prove myself above and beyond any expectations. Many people thought my stature was too small to be a stand out pitcher but I made it my goal to prove them wrong. I grew up in a baseball family. My dad grew up playing baseball. He played semi-pro and my parents met at one of his baseball games. Baseball and softball were always a part of my life growing up. I wanted to play softball and didn’t care if I was smaller than everyone else. It was the sport I wanted to play so I had to work hard and practice and get extra work in. I had to work harder than every girl other there if I wanted to be successful.”
And she did. Where some players have natural size, she didn’t. She had to earn her way onto the mound. She put in a lot of hours developing her arm. Her mom remembers Natasha’s high school pitching days.
“When Tasha was playing Select Softball and we were traveling to the College Recruiting Tournaments, as a Mom, I would LOVE it when she would go out to do some warm up pitching and the coaches on the opposing team would yell to their players, ‘Hey girls, little pitcher!’, implying that the game would be a piece of cake. What they didn’t know is that her warm up was deceiving, as she had a fast-ball with a natural curve! Usually, after she struck out a few batters, I would notice that coaches would be in the dug-out telling their players to pay attention and watch, so they would be prepared for the curve ball! Priceless!”
Natasha’s arm, and that natural curve ball, attracted attention. She eventually became so good that she earned a college scholarship to be the Eastern New Mexico University Zias’ starting pitcher for the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
“I can picture her before every game. She’s sitting off by herself and is visualizing a successful game… she’s mentally preparing for the game, as that is the type of athlete she is. She ‘gets’ that it takes more than the physical ability.”
After graduating, the 5′5” slender young woman entered the usual post-college workforce, supplemented by occasional work as a model; eye-catching good looks being one of the benefits of living an active lifestyle.
But, after pushing herself so hard for so long to become a starting collegiate pitcher, she began to miss the challenge, not to mention the training, the camaraderie, the spirit of athletics, and everything else that goes along with playing a competitive team sport. She wanted stronger competition. She wanted the pressure. She wanted to push herself to improve.
But it wouldn’t come on the softball field.
Her arm was giving her another opportunity. It was an opportunity most girls her size don’t ever get. She was getting the opportunity to play professional tackle football.
And if she was going to play football, she wanted to be the quarterback.
“I have always been a football fan. I grew up loving Brett Favre and would scream and shout during the games as my guy friends would do. So, when I was told about the LFL I thought this was the perfect time and perfect opportunity to play football and put sports back in my life.”
And Natasha knows football. Just ask her mom.
“I had a client give me their Seahawks season tickets for a game against Green Bay as a ‘thank you’ gift. I decided to take Natasha. She was in the sixth grade at the time and the Packers were ‘her team’. The tickets were fantastic; fourth row, on the 50 yard line. The Seattle fans around us were serious and dedicated to the Seahawks! I remember being a little nervous and telling Tasha to be sure if she was going to yell for ‘her team’ to make sure she was smart about it! At one point in the game it appeared the Seahawks were advancing to 1st and 10 and Natasha yelled, ‘It’s a penalty!’ A few old guys behind us said, ‘Hey little girl, make sure you know what you’re talkin’ about!’ And not seconds later, on the big screen they show the referee who is declaring a penalty! The old guy then leans over, taps me on the shoulder and says, ‘I guess your little girl knows what she’s talking about’!”
Natasha went to the try-outs, where her football knowledge, athletic ability, model-good looks, and competitive attitude got her noticed by the coaches. They saw that, despite her size, she had a pretty good arm.
They soon tapped her to be the team’s starting quarterback. She was going to be the linchpin of the offense; just like Brett Favre.
“I believe it’s not the size of a person but how much they are willing to give and how much someone is willing to fight to play the sport/position she wants to play. I’ve always had to prove critics wrong and prove I could get the job done at the position I was going for.”
Teamed with stand-out players Katie Ryckman, Kerry Warren, and Lindsey Blaine, Natasha led the Mist to a 3-1 record, just barely losing a play-off slot to a resurgent Los Angeles team; a team that would win the Western Conference title and then become LFL Champions.
Natasha Lindsey had never played tackle football before, but at the end of the 2009-10 LFL football season she was voted the Most Improved Player by her Seattle Mist coaches. To anyone who knew her from her days as a young, determined softball player, her desire for constant improvement was no surprise.
So does she have any advice for girls who are told they’re too small to play sports?
“Give it your all and go for whatever sport you want to play. Always give it your all and just remember that there will always be critics and people telling you ‘you can’t do that’ or ‘you’re too small’. Develop a thick skin and learn how to ignore these comments. Don’t let this discourage you; let these comments empower you and motivate you to strive to get better. Be the best you can be and prove these people wrong. You will go as far as how much hard work you put into it. This goes for sports and every other aspect of your life. It is 2010, we are women who can have a career, be successful and have a family simultaneously and we are also women that can play sports, go to the Olympics, and get public recognition for being athletic.”
And she certainly is getting public recognition, not just as a beautiful young woman, but as an athlete.
“I have been recognized while out and about in public. People usually say ‘you look familiar…’ and realize it is because of the Seattle Mist and being the quarterback. Then they usually get really excited and ask how I enjoy playing and ask for an autograph. It’s taken some getting used to because I think to myself ‘I’m a person just like you; I just happen to play football.’ It’s been an awesome experience.”
But she didn’t do it alone.
“I give my parents the most credit for my success. They put their life on hold so I could put all I could into softball. They were at every game, every practice, every event and I couldn’t have done it without their support.”
Natasha Lindsey dedicated herself to improving her skills so that she could play the sport she wanted to play, and then she had to work even harder to play the position she wanted to play in that sport. And then, that same drive to continuously improve herself made her a starting quarterback on a professional football team.
Sometimes that drive is the most important thing a person can have.
Because everybody wants to be good at something.
Welcome to the All-Whigham team, Natasha.
Long live sport.
