Natasha Watley

Heroes are people who influence you all the time. Have you ever heard of Natasha Watley? Well, she's my hero. Natasha Watley is generous, strong, smart, brave, athletic, determined and hard working. Those are characteristics that many people's heroes probably have. Natasha Watley is my hero because she was the first African American to play on the USA women's softball team. And, she still plays, has won many medals, and she has a really big heart too. She does so much for other people, and she makes me want to try my best all the time!

I chose the quote above because it applies to Natasha Watley because she always practices and does her best to succeed. Winning Olympic medals has always been a dream of mine, and Natasha Watley is someone who has lived that dream! Natasha Watley has won a gold and silver medal. She didn't win that medal without any hard work. Natasha practiced softball all the time, and she never gave up. Natasha has also won other awards, and she was a finalist for the Women's Sports Foundation Sportsman of the Year Award. That is something I find to be amazing and very heroic. She is hardworking at everything does and she never quits when things get too hard. Natasha attended Woodbridge High School and was named second team Louisville Slugger All American in her junior and senior years. She worked very hard to get there and she was inspired to do her best by her family. She went to UCLA and was a very successful softball player there, holding records, and playing spectacularly.

NWF- Do you know what that is? That's a foundation that Natasha created called the Natasha Watley Foundation (NWF). In this foundation Natasha really opens her heart and helps children in poor communities. NWF teaches kids to play softball and it holds an under twelve year old softball league in Los Angeles, California. The Foundation teaches the kids more than just how to play softball. It teaches them to be confident in everything they do, from living a healthy lifestyle, to being dedicated, and having high self-esteem. Creating a good body image is important and it is just another thing the Natasha Watley Foundation promotes. The Foundation also helps reduce teen pregnancy and it teaches teens about respecting their body.

In everything Natasha Watley does, she influences many people. She not only influences the people she helps and teaches in her foundation, but she also can influence people just like you and me! She influences me to do and try my best in every sport I play, not just softball. Practicing is very important and that is just another thing she influences me to do. Her foundation helps many kids and it can teach people like me and you, to just be nice and help others.

Natasha Watley is clearly a hero to many athletes because she influences people to practice all the time and always do their best, but she can also be a hero to people who don't play sports. Natasha has a very big heart and she teaches people to be nice and to help others and to make a difference. Natasha is my hero because she is kind, brave, strong, intelligent, hardworking, determined, and athletic; maybe just like your hero. Natasha Watley influences me a lot. Someone probably influences you a lot too, who's your hero?

"Natasha Watley" Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. February 9th, 2010. February 25th, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Watley

"Watley." "The Official Site of Natasha Watley" Avery J. Productions February 10thh 2010. February 25th 2010. http://natashawatley.com/home.html

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