Interview with Softball Player, Marta Gasparotto

I will fully admit that I don’t know a whole lot about softball. Netball, yes. Football, yes. Basketball, a bit. But softball has me stumped. That’s why I was so keen to have a chat with Italian pro softball player Marta Gasparotto. I wanted to understand the game of softball as well as what it takes and how gruelling it is to be a professional in the sport.

For a bit of background and before delving into our chat, Marta began playing baseball at just eight years old, and she was the only girl on the team. Initially, she avoided softball, believing that girls weren't as strong as boys - as so many young kids (and adults) often do. It wasn’t until the Olympic qualifiers came around that she fell in love with softball. This was around age 12.

Looking ahead to today, Marta has won three championship titles and two European Championships with the national team, and in July she will be aiming to appear in Tokyo to finally be able to realise her dream of participating in the Olympics. Here’s a look into how Marta first came to love softball, pressures she’s faced throughout her career and what other women inspire her.

How did you first get into or start playing softball?

Well, it wasn’t really love at first sight with softball. I started playing baseball when I was 8 years old after a family friend, who was a baseball coach, made me try the sport during a BBQ at the field. I loved it! But, being a girl, I knew that eventually I would have had to switch to softball. I never wanted to, because at that age I thought that girls weren’t as good as the boys, but then came the Olympic qualifiers and I saw a level of the game that I’ve never seen before, boys or girls, and I decided that that was the level I wanted to play at and that’s how I started with softball! I love it way more than baseball now. 

For those of our readers who may not know the difference between softball and baseball (myself included), can you shed some light here?

Of course! They look very similar at first sight, but there are actually quite a few differences! First of all, softball is played with a bigger, yellow ball, while baseball uses a smaller white ball. The second difference is in the delivery of the pitcher: overhand for baseball and underhand for softball. The third major difference is that the field and the distance between bases is smaller for softball and the game is only 7 innings compared to the 9 in baseball. In general, softball is a more fast and exciting sport!

Is softball a popular sport in Italy?

Not as much as I’d like. There are some places where softball is very well developed, and I can see it growing year after year, especially in the younger kids, but it’s still way too far from sports like soccer, basketball and volleyball. A lot of people don’t even know what softball is. Hopefully that’ll change with the upcoming Olympic Games and some visibility!

Do you face many pressures as a female athlete in the sport?

I’m lucky enough to have a close circle that supports me in every step of my journey, and I’ve never really been criticised for being a female athlete, so no I wouldn’t say that I face pressure. Even my male peers respect me and value me for what I do. There’s been times, though, like when I was in middle school, when I was bullied by my classmates for “being too good at sports”, which if I think about it now it’s crazy, but also made me stronger.

What other women do you look up to or admire?

All of my teammates to start. Because I know how hard it is to be a female athlete, especially in our condition where we behave like professionals, training two times a day, but without the right recognition, and often carrying on a job or a school career. And then I have some role models in the athletes of my generation like the tennis player Naomi Osaka or the basketball player Sabrina Ionescu, and I admire them for what they are able to do both on and off the field.

What does a typical day of training look like for you?

My typical day of training consists in an early wake up, work out, have lunch, take a nap, practice with the team, dinner, stretch out and go to bed early to be ready to do it all over again the next day!

Softball is obviously a team sport, what makes playing as part of a team so important?

It’s important cause it’s like having a second family to me. Everything you go through you do it together and there’s always someone who knows exactly how you’re feeling and is ready to support you, cause they probably feel the same way! If you’re having a bad day there’s someone else who can make up for it and have your back, like you would do for their bad days and you always win and lose as a team.

How has life been different since COVID-19? How has it affected your training/day-to-day life and career?

It has been really hard, especially at the beginning where the rules of the lockdown didn’t allow me to go to the gym or practice, so I had to do everything at home and it wasn’t easy to find the motivation to keep going. But I got through it, and now that the rules have adapt to help us athletes I’m able to go to the gym and practice regularly, and not being able to go out and about can even be good sometimes because it takes away a lot of distractions. Although, I understand that I’m lucky to live in this kind of situation compared to what a lot of people have to go through everyday.

What’s the best part of being a professional woman in sport/and in softball in particular?

I’d say that I get to do what I love for a living, and I get to travel the world and create lifelong bonds with some amazing people on the way. Not bad at all! 

Will we be seeing you in Tokyo soon?!?!

The final team has not been announced yet, but I hope so, so fingers crossed and wish me luck!!