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Brittany Hardy
Professor Wemple
English 101-08
11 March 2013
Jennie Finch Profile
Jennie Finch is known for her hard work, dedication, and spectacular skills for the game
of softball, and her big heart for helping others. Finch was brought up in a sports minded family
and carried out her immediate love for softball by
perfecting the skills of the game. Jennie’s number
one fan and personal trainer, her father, helped
shape her into the player she has become. In her
early childhood years Jennie excelled in the game
Figure. 1 Goff. Jennie Finch
and paired with hard work and practice, she
eventually made it to the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympic Games on the USA softball’s “Dream
Team”. After winning countless games, tournaments, Olympic medals, team awards, and
personal awards, Jennie still surrounds herself with the game. She is still helping others and even
campaigning for softball. Jennie Finch is a California raised girl who reached a great level of
stardom, amazing awards and once in a lifetime opportunities, all due to her love for the game of
softball.
Raised in a home that was just minutes away from the Dodger Stadium, with a family
pack of season tickets on the third base line, Jennie Finch was surrounded by baseball from the
moment she was born. Finch joined her first T-ball team at the age of five, and showed
promising hand eye coordination during practices. These early signs caught the attention of her
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father, and from that point on, he dedicated his time with her to help her improve. Jennie joined a
ten and under travel ball team when she was nine years old, she spent her summer weekends out
in the field doing what she loved. She claimed the ASA National Title in Chattanooga Tennessee
twice, one for each of her twelve and under team and her fourteen and under team. Jennie played
through middle school and in high school she made the varsity squad her freshman year. She led
La Mirada High to four Suburban League titles, while playing both volleyball and basketball for
the school as well. Finch started receiving awards in softball for her outstanding playing in her
sophomore year, when she was awarded the Female Athlete of the Year, showcasing both her
athletic and academic successes. Finch was not only a star athlete and outstanding student but
she still found time to find interest in clothing and the girly side of her personality. “I love
makeup, I love clothes, I am a typical girly-girl” Jennie states later in her career. “But I think you
can do all that and still maintain a respectable athletic persona” (Rovell ). Jennie Finch ended her
high school softball career with a record of 50 wins and 12 Loses. She had nearly 800 strikeouts
and an incredibly low ERA of 0.15, including six perfect games and thirteen no hitters all in a
matter of her four year high school career. It’s obvious that Jennie Finch was rewarded with a
scholarship to play softball in college to continue her success and growth.
Arizona State University welcomed Jennie Finch as a new player of their Division I
softball team. While on the team Jennie was not only a
“dazzling duo” with her fellow teammate in pitching, but she
nearly set records with her batting average over .350 and
leading the team with seven homeruns in just a matter of weeks.
Jennie’s record quickly rose to 24 wins and was awarded the
NCAA Region II Most Outstanding Player. Finch was also on
Figure 2. Rovell. Team USA’s
Dream Team on the cover o
f Sports Illustrated.
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the Junior Women’s Olympics team where she led the team in achieving their Silver Medal. In
the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens she led the USA Blue Team to Gold Medal with 27 K’s in
just two games. Jumping from Collegiate ball to Junior Olympic and travel teams Jennie picked
up the First Team All-American Player award after going 32-0 with an ERA of 0.54 one season
at Arizona State. In 2004 Jennie Finch was on the Olympic “Dream Team”. The final game
ended in a 5-1 victory over Australia for the Olympic Gold Medal win. Jennie wore the number
27 which will forever hold value to any softball player, displaying Finch’s hard work and
dedication to the game. While Jennie’s collegiate and Olympic careers are over, she has yet to
stop playing or surrounding herself with the game.
Jennie Finch will forever be the face of softball to young girls all over. Although her
softball careers are over she is still a huge part of it every day. Finch
holds clinics all over the country for young girls and even has her
own softball academy in New Jersey. Finch described her new
academy. “The Diamond Nation Facility includes the outdoor
complex, the dome, and the indoor academy which allows us to run
all levels of tournaments including, national championships and
college recruiting events” (Finch). The academy is dedicated to
promoting young girls to work for a game they love and present
Fig. 3. Rovell. Jennie
Finch Logo.
them with many opportunities to learn. Jennie Finch has an official website, and is sponsored by
Mizuno, with a line of softball gear and products showcased with pops of pink and green to
capture the girly side of Jennie’s personality. Jennie Finch’s Official Store showcases many of
these products and can be bought both online or in store. Finch states “Softball has always been
my passion and an enormous part of my life, it has taught me countless life lessons” (Finch).
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Jennie’s life is still revolved around softball each and every day and her successes are something
that she shares with others and takes as an opportunity to teach young kids and pass along what
she has to offer them in many ways even those outside of the realm of the game.
Jennie is known primarily because of her softball history but for many people across the
country she is something more to them. Finch is involved in over five charity organizations.
Project HOTSHOTS helps children in needy communities. Jennie has sent hundreds of
backpacks to children that are in need. Women’s Sports Foundation supports female athletes, and
FCA supports Christian athletes in the Florida area. Jennie is also a part of the ‘nplay foundation
that creates fun programs for kids to get them moving and counsels them on how to eat healthier
food, in communities that have seen budget cuts in their physical education programs. Among
others, she also supports the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Jennie Finch is a very active
part of her own community and other communities that are in need all over the country.
Jennie Finch, number 27, a simple number that now represents hard work, dedication,
and persistence for the game. Any girl would wear the number with pride knowing the successes
Jennie Finch acheived on the softball field. Finch impacted the lives of many people in her
ongoing softball career since she started at age five. She displayed hard work and determination
to give the game everything she had. Her family supported her every step of the way, while she
struggled or while she set records and received awards. Finch left her mark everywhere she
played and is a household name that any softball or baseball fan knows, whether it’s because of
their little pink softball gloves or from her softball camps, or even from many charity events and
projects. Jennie’s ongoing support of the game and the young girls who play each day is amazing
and shows that she wants to share her knowledge to anyone who wants to learn. Any athlete can
have trophies and awards, but a role model worthy athlete does what Jennie Finch does, and that
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is to share her love for the game by promoting the growth and development of young girls who
are the new faces of softball, the game she will forever be known for.
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Works Cited
Finch, Jennie. “Dream and Believe.” The Official Jennie Finch Website. The Official Jennie
Finch, 2010. Web. 29 March. 2013.
Goff, Stephen. “USA Softball Star Jennie Finch to Host Camp.” Examiner. The Examiner.com,
30. Apr. 2010. Web. 30. March. 2013
Rovell, Darren. “All Hail the New Queen.” ESPN. ESPN News, 25 Feb. 2008. Web. 30 March.
2013.