GETTING INTO SWING OF THINGS; BUSTOS MEETING EXPECTATIONS.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Special to the Daily News Call her the Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. of women's professional softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' . After an outstanding prep career at Canyon High, and only two years of junior college experience, Crystl Bustos decided that it was time to go pro. Just three years ago, Bustos wouldn't have been able to make the jump to the professional ranks - there wasn't a professional league for her to play in. Today, the Canyon Country resident is the marquee player in the 3-year-old Women's Professional Softball League. After winning the league's most valuable player award last year as a member of the now-defunct Orlando Wahoos
Unfortunately, Akron will have to wait to enjoy Bustos' talents. Just as she was finally settling down to enjoy her professional career, Bustos received an invitation to try out for U.S. National Team at the 1999 Women's Softball Festival in Fresno. Bustos was selected to the team four days later, and she will compete in the Pan-Am Games in Winnipeg, Canada July 23-Aug. 7. ``I was really excited and happy, but I kind of feel like I'm letting my pro team down,'' said Bustos, who is an inactive member of the Racers' roster while she tours with the national team this summer. Although her ascension Ascension, in Christianity Ascension, name usually given to the departure of Jesus from earth as related in the Gospels according to Mark (16) and Luke (24) and in Acts 1.1–11. through the USA softball program was rapid, it came as little surprise to followers followers see dairy herd. of Bustos' career. ``I'm a big fan of hers,'' said Greg Hayes Gregory Robert Hay (b. 14 July, 1984) in Rotorua. He is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for the Central Districts and for Nelson in the Hawke Cup competition. He scored 98 on first-class debut. , Bustos' former softball coach at Canyon. ``I think that by the time she was a (high school) junior, I knew she was on an elite level.'' Always the best player on whatever team for which she's played, Bustos' talent has never been a doubt. During the four years she spent at Canyon (1992-95), Bustos was widely regarded as the best player in the area. After her junior season in which she hit .568 and had 10 home runs, 28 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in and 31 stolen bases, Bustos was named the Daily News Player of the Year. She could have gone to any school, but she had fallen far behind academically her first three years at Canyon. Bustos tried to catch up the fall of her senior year and enrolled in college-prep classes, but the plan backfired. She couldn't stay academically eligible to play softball until late in the season. ``If she would have taken a normal load, she would have been eligible,'' Hayes said. ``We wanted her to go to a Division I school and we really overloaded her with classes. She's probably the smartest softball player I've ever coached. ``It's her attitude and understanding of the game that makes her such a great player.'' Bustos' jump to professional softball wasn't exactly Kobe-like. She spent two years at Palm Beach (Fla.) Community College after failing to qualify academically for a Division I school. ``When I was little, I didn't think I was going to go to college and I didn't think that softball would get me in somewhere. I kind of regret it now and I've learned from it,'' Bustos said. After leading Palm Beach to two consecutive community college national championships, Bustos signed with Cal State Northridge. Unfortunately for the Matadors, that was the same time that the Women's Professional Softball League came calling. For Bustos, the decision to forsake college and play professionally wasn't difficult. ``I've always wanted to play pro ball, but there was never a pro league,'' Bustos said. For a player like Bustos, whose softball career could have ended when she didn't qualify academically for a Division I program, the WPSL WPSL Women's Premier Soccer League WPSL Women's Pro Softball League was a perfect fit. Now Bustos can make a living showcasing her athletic abilities across the nation and learn from older players in the league who had collegiate col·le·giate adj. 1. Of, relating to, or held to resemble a college. 2. Of, for, or typical of college students. 3. Of or relating to a collegiate church. or international experience. She is improving - a fact not lost on the U.S. Olympic Softball Program. ``I tried out for the Junior Olympics team in high school and I didn't make it,'' Bustos said. ``I was disappointed because I thought that I was one of the best players out there.'' The experience soured her on the Olympic program, although her selection to the Pan-Am team has changed her outlook. By making the Pan-Am team, Bustos earned an automatic invitation to try out for the U.S. Olympic team that will compete in the Summer Games This article is about the Epyx video game series. For the international multi-sport event, see Summer Olympic Games. Summer Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx and released by U.S. Gold based on sports featured in the Summer Olympic Games. in 2000. Bustos returns to the Racers after the Pan-Am games in August. ``I was raised on the sport and that's what I love to do,'' Bustos said. ``I want to play forever, maybe coach some day.'' |
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