Help Build Softball In China

June 1, 2013

There are few things in life as complicated – or potentially dangerous – as international politics.

Wrong moves have resulted in war.

Over the years – beginning with the Olympics – sports have been used to ease tensions and create better understanding between countries.

Many senior softball players can vividly recall a day back in 1971 when the sport of table tennis or ping pong dominated the news.

That’s when the American Ping Pong team was competing in Japan when it received a surprise invitation from China to become the first group of Americans allowed into the Communist nation since the revolution in 1949.

That event marked a thaw in U.S.-China relations that ultimately paved the way for a visit to Beijing by President Nixon, the first American president to visit.

Time magazine would call it “The ping heard round the world.”

Now Senior Softball has its opportunity to do what it can to help build relationships between our two nations. The Chinese government has asked Senior Softball-USA to help build the sport throughout China.

The foundation of lasting peace through mutual understanding is often based on such small steps.