Earlier this month, Kendall Dawson traveled out of the country for the first time ever. But it wasn’t a vacation. She found herself playing competitive baseball on an international stage.
Dawson, a catcher from Plant City, suited up for Team USA in the 2014 Women’s Baseball World Cup. The eight-team tournament was held in Miyazaki, Japan, from Sept. 1 to 7. The Americans went home with silver medals, but Dawson wasn’t too disappointed.
“Representing your country is such a big thing,” she says. “It was definitely a fun experience. I wouldn’t have changed anything, except for winning the gold.”
Although she spent much of her time on the diamond, visiting the Land of the Rising Sun was an experience she won’t soon forget.
Before the trip, Dawson spent two weeks training with the team near Malibu, Calif. That came with just one day off. Ironically, the Florida resident spent it at the beach. So, Japan was an opportunity to experience something totally different.
As soon as the team arrived in Japan, the girls were met with fanfare.
“The people were awesome,” Dawson says. “They had a welcoming ceremony after we got off the plane.”
The crowd consisted of Japanese greeters and members of the local media, making the Americans feel welcome — a trend that continued throughout the week.
“Everyone was always waving when they saw us,” she says. “It seemed like they really like American people.”
Of course, communicating with the locals was a different story.
“I think the hardest thing for me was not being able to talk to anyone,” Dawson says. “Everyone spoke Japanese, and all I knew how to say were, ‘Hello,’ and, ‘Thank you.’”
Two translators, and a Team USA member who was born in Japan, helped the team in that regard.
The team was on a strict schedule but got acquainted with the local culture right away. A team dinner on the first evening consisted of traditional Japanese foods, including fish that still had their heads. This also came with a quick lesson on table manners.
“There’s an old rule, not to put your chopsticks in your dish when you’re finished,” Dawson says. “They do that when someone in the family dies. A few people forgot to (not) do that.”
Most days were spent practicing and playing games.
The Americans went undefeated in pool play, thanks to an 8-7 walk-off thriller of a win over Canada Sept. 3. The next day, the girls were given a break before Final Four play.
“We got to go to a temple there, and some little Japanese shops,” Dawson says. “I don’t know what the temple was called, but it was really awesome. It’s where they go and pray, and they write their wishes on these wooden boards, burn them in, and then hang them on trees around the island. It was a forest. And they had different things you could do to bring you luck.”
One of those activities involved picking up a bow and trying to shoot arrows into different barrels — each with a different meaning. All of the Americans tried it. But none of them made it.
“That’s why we lost,” Dawson jokes. “No, I’m just kidding.”
The team also visited a sumo wrestling training facility and got to take pictures in the circle where the wrestlers do battle.
Team USA advanced to the gold medal game as the No. 2 seed, behind Japan, but lost, 3-0, Sept. 7.
“I think we did a really good job preparing,” Dawson says. “It just didn’t fall our way this year.”
The flight — well, five flights — home riddled Dawson with jet lag for a few days, but being able to see her family again was worth it.
“I missed my family,” she says. “I thought that I would say the food, but I actually enjoyed the food there.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
WHERE IN THE WORLD?
Miyazaki is the capital city of the Miyazaki Prefecture, located on Japan’s southernmost island, Kyushu.
For a rough comparison, one can think of a prefecture as Japan’s answer to an American state.
Miyazaki is located right on the east coast of the island and, unlike Florida, has plenty of mountains and waterfalls to look at when not on the coast. The locals there are a full 13 hours ahead of us and, if you’re reading this Friday morning, they are currently enjoying their Friday evening.
There are religious shrines, hot springs, old castles and more to explore in Miyazaki, or one could just hang out at its many resort hotels near the ocean — much like a Florida tourist.