Three-time All-American Amber Freeman: “Why I Didn’t Quit When Told I’d Never Play Again”

You won’t find many who’ve had a more accomplished softball career than Amber Freeman.

The Lakewood, California native played club ball for two prestigious organizations, the OC Batbusters and Corona Angels, before going on to an All-American career as a catcher at Arizona State and then with the USA National Team and eventually would play in the NPF for the USSSA Pride.

Today, she co-manages a successful workout facility in her native Southern California and gets to give back her softball knowledge and wisdom to the next generation of fastpitch dreamers, but it appeared early on that her budding softball career would end before it ever got off the ground.

Here’s Amber’s inspiring story of how she persevered through an early injury where she was told she’s never play again, only to suffer through one knee injury after another, but she never gave up on her way to softball stardom!

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My journey through 18 years of softball was not your typical one–it took a lot of perseverance, determination, and tons of hard work!

I first started playing softball when I was 5 years old when, one day, my dad was driving and stopped at our local rec league in Lakewood, California and signed me up without knowing much about the sport.

That was when I first fell in love with this game, but, at the age of 11, my dreams of playing college softball and being an Olympian came to a sudden stop.

This was when I had my first major surgery as my left hip had gradually slipped out of its socket over the course of a year. My surgeon broke the news and told me that he didn’t think that I would be able to play this game, or any other sport, ever again.

I was absolutely devastated, and, for a moment, I believed him.

At that very moment, I took it upon myself to never let someone tell me that I couldn’t do something. After about eight months, I made a full recovery and was back on the field doing what I loved even though it left me with a three-inch titanium screw in my left hip!

Fast forward four years to my first practice of sophomore season at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. I remember it being a really cold and rainy day. I had on brand new spikes and I remember them sticking to the dirt because it was a little muddy.

We were doing base running drills and while I was running home, I felt a pop and fell to the ground. I had torn my ACL and meniscus and, again, I was so devastated.

I was questioning why this was happening to me: Would I be able to recover? Am I going to lose my scholarship to Arizona State?

I missed a full year of softball, but I had never worked harder in my entire life than I did during that time. I came back so much stronger and almost became a different athlete because I had time to miss the game and really work on my craft.

Believe it or not, that was the first of my three knee surgeries: while I was at ASU, I had two more after my sophomore and junior seasons as I kept tearing my meniscus in my left knee until there was none left.

But, every time, I worked as hard as I could to get back on that field and I never let these injuries get in my way because I kept my goal in mind and that is what kept me going.

After all these setbacks and valleys, I was able to accomplish more than I could have ever dreamed. I was fortunate to be named a three-time All-American at Arizona State, the 2013 Pac-12 Player of the Year, the 2015 Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year, a two-time Academic All-American, a three-time USA National Team Member and was even able to be drafted by the USSSA Pride in 2015.

I talk about my journey because many people ask me why I didn’t just give up after being knocked down so many times. My answer is the same each time: I didn’t give up because I kept my goals in the forefront of my thoughts.

Goal setting is so important because, without goals, what are we truly working for?

Goals make it easier to go to practice when you don’t want to.

Goal setting and hard work can take you so far not only in sports, but in life.

I challenge the athletes that come into my facility to commit to getting one percent better every day. Commit to be the best athlete, student, and person that you can be.

I feel so blessed to have been given an opportunity to pass on my experiences, knowledge, and wisdom to up and coming players.

You can do anything you set your mind to. The sky is the limit!

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Amber received her Master’s in Elementary Education from Arizona State and earlier this year she teamed with another former ASU athlete, Alante Wright, to run The Warehouse Sports training facility in La Mirada, California.

Says Amber, “The Warehouse Sports was founded to develop skills in athletic performance and wellness in the Southern California baseball and softball community. Alante and I were determined to help parents and athletes find a solution to achieving both athletic performance and recovery all in our beautiful 10,000 square foot facility.”

The Warehouse Sports facility offers five batting cages, weekly catching; weight lifting, speed and agility classes; physical therapy and cupping massage therapy as “a one-stop shop for the development of student-athletes.”

Anyone interested in learning more can call 714-994-8662 or email: [email protected].