When Vanessa Lee decided to return to the softball field last year she had one thing in mind … to make it to 400 games.
She started playing when she was seven but spent a number of years away from the game.
“I stopped and played baseball for Port Melbourne,” Lee said. “I had my son and then went back to playing at Port Melbourne. Then after having my daughter, I played baseball at Waverley.”
Travelling to games and training became too much for a mother with two children, so Lee decided last year to return to softball.
She rejoined the Cheetahs club where she started and last Saturday became the first person from the Northern Softball Association to play 400 games.
“It’s a little overwhelming to be the first person to play 400,” she said. “Everyone was excited for me.”
Playing softball is a family affair for Lee, with her daughter playing tee-ball and her son playing in the under-13s.
“The kids love softball,” she said.
“My son is a little bat boy and my niece is a bat girl for the senior games. My sister, Deanne, still plays and she should play her 400th next season.”
Lee’s mother also played softball.
Lee said she was unsure how many softball and baseball games she had played in total.
“I’ve been playing since I was seven and now I’m 40 … it’s been a long time.”
Now she has reached her aim of 400 games, Lee already has her sights set on a new milestone.
“Five hundred is the aim now,” she said.
“I’ll keep playing as long as the body holds out.”
