By Lauren Verrusio
Trying to think of a single word to describe Jessica Mendoza is like attempting to convince Dara Torres she should never swim again – nearly impossible (and frankly, quite ridiculous). Perhaps Mendoza could be portrayed as “passionate”? That works, as Mendoza is unrelentingly passionate. Enthusiastic? Well, yes, as she is arguably more enthusiastic than most other decorated Olympic athletes. Determined? Driven? Ambitiously motivated? Yes, yes and absolutely yes. Yet alone, not one of these terms fits the bill.
Instead, Jessica Mendoza is, well, Jessica Mendoza.
The name “Jessica Mendoza” has become synonymous with an image that encompasses passion, enthusiasm and a ravenous attitude to exceed limitations and become better than the best.
The softball Olympian has unknowingly built herself a brand, one which is defined by an insatiable thirst to grown and learn and improve. If she hits three home runs in a game yet strikes out on her fourth at-bat, her focus resides in that last at-bat. In addition to the physical, these mental skills were instilled into her at an early age by her hero and coach: her father.
Growing up, Mendoza never experienced the boundaries of “I can’t.” With memories of skinned knees and grass-stained clothes, Mendoza recalled an afternoon in which her father found his 10-year-old daughter spontaneously taking on the neighborhood boys in a boxing match. When told girls could not fight against boys, Mendoza looked at her father and said, “But, Dad, I’m winning.”
No barriers. No restrictions. Mendoza’s winning attitude and unyielding drive have accelerated her into, as USA Today’s Andy Gardiner described, “arguably the most complete softball player in the world.”
While the hard-nosed outfielder depicts herself as “never being satisfied because there are always a million ways to get better,” off of the field she remains humbly hungry to represent her sport and her country. And when it comes to experiencing the world, Mendoza has used the Olympic Games as an outlet to enrich her global visions.
“The best part of the Olympics is the Olympic village,” Mendoza stated, most recently drawing from her Beijing experience, which could very well have been her last Olympic appearance, as softball was ousted from the 2012 Games. “There are more countries represented at the Olympics than there are in the U.N. Imagine what we can do over a plate of couscous and French fries.”
And imagine what Mendoza will do over a plate of IOC “nays” and a goal to reinstate softball in the 2016 Olympic Games. “There are 130 countries playing softball,” Mendoza proudly states. The athlete recently joined U.S. Olympic Softball Coach Mike Candrea in England to help spread the sport, and recalled “hundreds of girls are playing the sport, but if you go down the street [in the same neighborhood] to a local pub, people will ask ‘what’s softball?’”
On the field, she has successfully sought to become faster, stronger and smarter, putting in more time in the weight room and batting cages than many of her peers. Mendoza is now using this fierce mentality to reinstate the game she loves – the game that gave her a platform to create a name for herself, for her sport and for her country.
And as of January 1, 2009,this complete package will fill a new role with the Women’s Sports Foundation, where she will take both her knowledge and notoriety, and bleed her passion into the reigns of the presidency.
“I’m giddy about it,” said Mendoza. “I’ll use the connections of the Women’s Sports Foundation to spread softball. With access to amazing women, there are so many things I want to do.”
Growing the sport of softball, especially before the October 2009 IOC vote to reinstate softball in the 2016 Olympic Games, is just one item on her endless list of things to accomplish. Her vision runs parallel with that of the Foundation’s: to get more girls and women active through sport and physical activity, and to relay her confidence and leadership abilities to girls and women around the world.
Knowing no limitations, the Mendoza brand will seek to build upon the Foundation’s history, cognizant of the notion that the “future is more than just us and our connections through our sport.” Giving credit to her predecessor, Aimee Mullins, Mendoza will seek to continue to merge with the world outside of sports to bring all women together. “I want to continue this. Let’s connect everyone.”
Additionally, connecting the past with the present and the present with the future will make Mendoza a visionary for the Foundation.
As she walked through the lobby of the Waldorf=Astoria at the 2008 Women’s Sports Foundation’s Annual Salute to Women in Sports gala, Mendoza was stopped by an admiring group of smiling girls who asked their hero for an autograph. A few minutes later in a conference room upstairs, Mendoza admiringly greeted the ageless women who started it all – the “Dotties” and “Kits” of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Smiling, Mendoza thanked them for breaking the glass ceiling to give her and girls around the world the ultimate opportunity: the gift to play.
“I want to keep progressing, I want to celebrate women,” said Mendoza. “Moving forward, I want to honor all women making a difference – in corporate America, everywhere. I want to celebrate that.”
One word to describe Mendoza? Boundless. Illimitable. Passionate. Determined. Driven. Jessica Mendoza isJessica Mendoza, a fervent leader who will bring the Women’s Sports Foundation into uncharted territories along with the women who set its sails 35 years ago.
And with boxing gloves ready, she’s motivated take on any naysayer in the neighborhood.