OrganicAthlete: First of all, tell us about your current job in organizing a women's softball league for Israel. What's your role in the administration?

Shyella: One of the reasons I moved to Israel was to introduce fastpitch softball to the women athletes of Israel. Since high school, my dream has been to combine my love of softball with my love for Israel. I moved to Israel in August 2000, and as soon as I found an apartment and a job, I made the connection with softball in Israel. I played fastpitch softball for all four years of high school and all four years of college. My position is pitcher and my pitches have been clocked at a speed of 63 miles per hour. When I came to Israel I found a women's league and a men's league which are governed by the Israel Softball Association (ISA). However, the men were playing fastpitch and the women were playing slowpitch. I was used to playing very competitive fastpitch softball and when I saw the level of the women's softball league 3 years ago, I understood that the transition from slowpitch softball to fastpitch softball would take time. The level of play in the men's league was pretty good. Each team had a pitcher and I was hoping I could be on one of the men's teams. Even though several of the men's teams wanted me on their team, I was not allowed to play due to the international softball rules of Europe which Israel abides by.

After my first season of playing I decided to become much more involved in the decision making of the Israel Softball Association, and I was one of two of the first women elected to the Board of Directors. The main reason I wanted to be on the board was to make sure that the women's league wasn't second priority to the men, especially since women's softball is an Olympic sport, which may mean funding in the future. I was a member of the league committee and the publicity committee. My responsibilities included making sure everything in both the men's and women's leagues was running smoothly. For example, I was in constant touch with the team captains to make sure fees were paid, team medicals completed and that there were two umpires for every game. My role in the publicity committee was as the co-editor of the Israel Softball Association publication "Grand Slam", which is all about what happened in the men's and women's leagues throughout the season.

In October 2002, I organized the first women's fall ball fastpitch season. Now there is no turning back as the women have really fallen in love with the game! My dream of fastpitch for women in Israel has become a reality. Since the women were excited about fastpitch, the board of the ISA decided it was time to form the Israel Women's National Team, especially since fastpitch softball is an Olympic sport for women. So I am the pitcher around whom the Israel Women's National Softball Team has been created.

Our players are diverse in backgrounds, ages and playing ability, but all are dedicated and excited about seeing fastpitch softball grow in Israel. The team is comprised of high school students, soldiers, single moms, university students, religious women, moms with large families, and 2 recruits of Israeli women from the US. The creation of the Women's National Team has changed slowpitch softball into the internationally played game of fastpitch, where the pitcher throws the ball at a high speed in a whipping windmill fashion, the batters can bunt, the runners can steal bases and the game is fast paced.

Our new National Team went to Croatia and Slovenia in June of 2002 to compete in our first tournament with these two other countries. In July 2003, the Israel Women's National Team participated in our first European Championship tournament. We played against much more experienced teams like France, Ukraine, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Greece. We actually accomplished our goal of winning one game when we beat Bulgaria 12-5. It was a very exciting win. We also played a very good game against Switzerland where we had the lead until they finally beat us 5-3. We had a great time representing Israel in Italy and being diplomats for the women athletes of Israel.

OA: Interestingly, the number of women in coaching and administration has significantly decreased since the passage of the Title IX law in 1972, which declared that no one will be discriminated against or excluded from educational programs or activities receiving federal funding on the basis of sex. While the number of women's programs has increased, the percentage of women softball coaches, for example, fell from 83.5% in 1977 to 65.4% in 2000. Do you have an explanation for this? What do you think this means for the future of women's sports?

Shy: I am not familiar with this statistic but I should mention that most of my coaches throughout high school in softball, field hockey, and basketball, and my pitching coaches throughout college have been female coaches. In fact the coach that I admire and respect the most was my high school coach, Nancy Williams, my field hockey and softball coach at Shore Regional High School in West Long Branch, NJ. She has just recently surpassed her 600th career field hockey win making her the first coach ever to record 600 wins. She is the all-time winningest high school field hockey coach in the nation. She is constantly fighting to make sure the high school is complying with the Title IX law. She was the toughest coach I ever played for and sure enough she always succeeded in coaching her players to play to their maximum potential. She has made big impacts on the lives of hundreds of players who will always remember the valuable life lessons she taught through sports.

OA: What's the current state of women's sports in Israel? Are women respected as athletes?

Shy: Women play sports here, but no one ever hears about it. Colleges and universities in Israel do not sponsor athletic teams for women. The Israeli government does not fund them. Only a few businesses are wealthy enough to sponsor a team or the partial needs of a team and I know that in Israel there is no radio or television coverage of our softball games or results whether we play nationally or internationally. However, on Friday, November 14, a photo of me in the windup of a pitch was on the front cover of a popular magazine section of one of the major newspapers in Israel called Ha'aretz (which comes with the Herald Tribune International Edition) and hopefully the article within the paper will bring some attention to softball and women athletes here.

Shyella winds up

OA: You played softball in college. Do feel that women have the same opportunities as men to play sports?

Shy: I went to Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT, where I received both an athletic and academic scholarship. Because Quinnipiac does not have a football team, I really felt that the attention given to the men's and women's teams was equal for the most part. According to Title IX, colleges are supposed to have an equal number of men and women's teams; therefore, in college I felt that I had the same opportunity to excel in my sport as anyone else. The difference is what happens after college, where the professional teams that pay the highest salary and have the highest popular demand are the men's professional teams.

OA: What are some of the challenges women face as athletes?

Shy: I think the biggest challenge is the lack of funding. If there were money in professional women's sports, and if women could actually think of pursuing an athletic career, I think there would be a lot more women's teams which would mean more women athletes serving as role models to other aspiring female athletes. All the other challenges, such as recruiting, publicity, proper facilities, equipment and career opportunities, are all tied to the fact that there are little or no funds made available and sponsorship is at rock bottom.

OA: This leads to bigger questions of women in society and gender equity. Quoting from the book Sport in Society by Jay Croakley, "Those who use critical and feminist theories to study sports in society have argued that real gender equity can never be achieved in sport activities and organizations shaped exclusively by the values and experiences of men interested in control and domination. They say that real equity requires the development of new models of sport participation, and new organizations shaped by the values and experiences of women and of men who do not see themselves in terms of dominant definitions of masculinity." Would you care to comment on this?

Shy: Where freedom exists, women will lobby, demonstrate, and fight for their legal rights to equality, whether it be in suffrage or in softball. As each generation matures and "gives back" to those who supported them, stronger and stronger women role models are appearing.

OA: I'm a language guy. I'm always interested in the origin of our words and how they shape our cultural ideologies. Successful male athletes "kill," "annihilate," or "punish" opponents. A winner is "the man." Sports language frames losers in terms of the "weaker" sex. Those who can't dominate and win are called "sissies," "wimps," and host of other not-so-nice words generally referring to female genitalia. Jay Croakley writes, "the maculinized culture of sports takes on serious political implications, because it celebrates values that privilege men and marginalize women." Do you agree with his view? Why?

Shy: I believe that women who are totally into their sport, pumped up by adrenalin and the desire to win and who are therefore playing aggressively also think in extreme terms. It has been proven that women who play sports have more self-confidence and are more successful with their careers and are much less likely to get into an abusive relationship.

OA: I found this comment both disturbing and comical: "What if (hypothetically) WNBA player Cynthia Cooper were to brag about how she had 'accommodated' over 2,000 men during the past few years (as Magic Johnson did in the early 1990s)?" What are the double standards for men and women athletes? Have you ever personally been a victim of these double standards?

Shy: I think this question really applies to any person who holds power over others, not just popular athletes. Unfortunately, some people who hold power are stupid and those people tend to abuse it whether they are athletes, politicians, actors/actresses, or just your everyday "little person with a little power". Many people with power abuse it but famous people have their lives scrutinized by the media. It has always been expected that women would hold to a higher moral standard than men, and sometimes they do.

OA: Now let's turn our attention to societal and political relations in Israel and how sport relates. Eight Palestinian terrorists kidnapped and killed 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Clearly, the media attention of sport can be captured to send political messages. Do you think sport does help tear down cultural and political fences, or does sport build reinforced walls of hate? How about a "sport not war" initiative?

Shy: Since I am living in a country whose greatest budgeted expenses go to security and the military, the amount of money from the government that goes to sports and extra curricular activities for kids is much smaller here than in other countries. I think that when we can finally live in peace without our neighbors trying to murder us all the time, and when the government can afford to put more money into the educational and cultural departments, the economy and other aspects of living in this country will improve. In Italy, 16 softball teams from all over the world participated in the European Softball Championships 2003 and the athletes and their supporters all found it a place of peace and education and tolerance. Unfortunately, Islam is both a politic and a religion and its policies of subjugation of their women and hate of Western culture and Israel are well documented. In Italy at the opening ceremonies of the tournament, Arab Moslems lined up freely with the other onlookers and heckled and spat at my Israeli team as we walked with the others in the opening parade. Given the fact that the women of Arab nations are still waiting for the right to walk in public with their faces uncovered, it is not likely that we will have the opportunity in my lifetime to use sports as a message of peace.

OA: What's it like to live near the strife and conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis? Is there a level of tension, danger, or cautiousness that's different than living in, say, New York?

Shy: It is very scary knowing that at anywhere and any time there could be a suicide bomber. However, here, there is high security everywhere. You cannot enter any public place without having your bag checked and being asked if you carry a weapon. Still, I feel so much safer walking around the city of Tel Aviv as opposed to NYC because when I walk during the day or at night in Tel Aviv I don't feel in danger of being mugged, stabbed, or raped. Moslem extremism has extended its hatred toward anything "Western" as we saw so well when the World Trade Center came down. How can anyone think they are safe when there is such hatred in the world? In Israel, I know that if at any time I felt frightened, in trouble, or just lost, I could go to any Jewish home to ask for help and I would receive it. I truly believe that living here is like being a part of one extended family.

OA: I recently heard activist and folk singer Holly Near tell a story about cellist in Bosnia. When U.S. planes began bombing his village, this cellist walked out into the middle of his town square and began playing. A reporter approached the cellist and asked, "Why are you playing your cello, while they're dropping bombs all around you?" The cellist replied, "Why are they dropping bombs, while I'm playing my cello?" I think we need more of that attitude in this world. Do you ever feel the same way on some level while you're playing softball? Does the political and military strife distracted you from your sport?

Shy: Golda Meir once said, "When our Arab neighbors love their own children more than they hate us, this fighting will come to an end." In Israel we are always vigilant, always on guard for "unusual" circumstances or "suspicious looking" people. But on my softball fields I feel very safe. I know that if Israel did not have to spend so much money on security, life here would really be blossoming culturally. Personally, I am not distracted from my sport due to the situation here, however, the situation does affect everyone on some level. For example, the coach of our national team is the head of detectives for the Shomron Yehuda area. Whenever there is a "situation" along Israel's borders, my coach is called away leaving me in charge of running the practice. Also, three of the women on my team are soldiers who were given the status of "outstanding athlete soldiers", and although this enables them to participate on our team, there are times when even they can't come due to their military obligations.

OA: Do you have any Palestinians on your team? Are there efforts to make peace through sports in Israel?

Shy: No, there are no Palestinians on my team. As far as I know, Palestinians and other Arabs have no idea what softball is, and have no interest in learning this American game. If a young Moslem woman decided to join my Tel Aviv team, her family would probably kill her for humiliating them on three or four different levels of their observance. However, I do know that last year, the Peres Center for Peace and other organizations brought together 80 Jewish and Arab Israeli sixth-grade boys to teach them baseball.

OA: Your uncle, Dr. Doug Graham, has been a tremendous influence and inspiration in my life and a believer in the OrganicAthlete mission from the get-go. How have Doug and his partner Roz Gruben inspired you?

Shy: My Uncle Doug has always been a great teacher and role model for me. He was my first catcher when I began learning how to pitch and has encouraged and supported me in all the sports I've participated. I have learned so much from him and Roz about nutrition and exercise over the years and I keep trying little by little to implement their teachings in my daily life. I have read just about all of Doug's publications and I truly believe that his methods lead to the ultimate level of human health, and when you have good health, the quality of your life is better. By spending five minutes with him or even just by looking at him you know that his lifestyle works extraordinarily. It must be due to Doug's influence that right now in my kitchen I have 47 bananas, 4 containers full of kiwis, 11 plums, 2 papayas, 9 apples, 21 clementines, 3 anonas, a head of celery, 5 cucumbers, and 2 avocados. My roommate thinks we're all fruited out. Also, my day is never complete until I go on my hour run and then drink my huge banana & celery shake. In September 2003, I was finally able to attend the Raw Fitness Camp in Silverthorne, Colorado run by Doug and Roz and it was the first time for me to be 100% raw for more than one day. I didn't miss cooked food at all during the week-long camp; I learned so much in the lectures about nutrition and exercise. Most of all I had so much fun with hours of varied physical activities. I lost five lbs and really felt great about the whole experience. Doug is an exemplary role model, someone who actually practices what he preaches and has the scientific proof that it works. He has helped so many people get on the healthy track lifestyle. I truly admire him-and I am glad he's my uncle.

For more information about Shyella and Israel's fastpitch softball team, visit: www.isafastpitch.homestead.com