“Every time I thought this might be the end, it showed up again.”

Malaika Underwood joins Jason and Emily for a very friendly Episode 051 to talk about her athletic career and the future she hopes to see in youth and professional sports. Born and raised in San Diego, playing freely with a gaggle of neighborhood kids, Malaika says baseball -- not softball -- found her and became a lifelong love. She dreamed of being a professional player, “the first,” as opportunities for girls and women in baseball were rare to nonexistent. 

She wrote to coaches to find a potential spot on a High School team -- not for special treatment, just for fair chance. Malaika talks about her competitiveness and stubbornness, along with the support of her parents, helping to deal with the weight of constantly having to prove herself -- “to be perfect” -- as the only girl on the team. Although baseball was her passion, her athleticism in volleyball earned her a place as a recruited scholarship athlete at UNC Chapel Hill. She talks about the struggle and culture shock of that transition as well as the relief of not being “the only.”

When she found the USA Baseball Team in 2006 -- having not played competitively for 7 years but staying involved in the game as coach and mentor -- the loneliness she had always felt on the diamond gave way to playing on a field of other women (an experience common to most of them). She is now the longest-tenured player on a USA Baseball National Team, male or female.  She has earned five Women’s Baseball World Cup medals, as well as two Women’s Baseball World Cup All-Tournament Team selections. 

Malaika is also wife to Chris, mother to Birdie and Kit, author, and professional in the sports arena, spending her time and talents to support college athletes as the NCAA landscape changes. She speaks about the importance of free-play for kids, carving a path for girls and women into professional baseball, and the aspirational steps needed to get there. The conversation covers a lot of ground in sports from large personalities to the history of softball, and throughout there is a love of the game and appreciation for the power of team sport.

Links:

• “Birdie Can Too!” by Malaika Underwood
• USA Baseball
• Discrepancy in NCAA Basketball Tournaments Coverage and in 2021 Tournaments Facilities
• “In Search of Greatness”
• Learn more about GORUCK 
• Glorious Professionals podcast website