Bandits building foundation for future

*this article ran in the Daily Herald on July 7 and was written by Rachel Folden*

"I love my job."

Some people dream about saying this every day. For me, being able to say this sentence is both a reality and a dream come true.

My name is Rachel Folden, and I play for the Chicago Bandits, a professional softball team in the National Pro Fastpitch league. When I was about 5, I knew I wanted to be a professional athlete. Of course, at that point I wanted to play for the Dodgers or Lakers, but certain things kept that from happening.

I thought long and hard about what I loved, and sports seemed to be it. I wanted to play on TV, rack up MVP awards, play in all-star games, win championships and have crowds chanting my name.

I wanted that rich lifestyle that went along with being a pro athlete, just like every other kid my age wanted.

Here I am a Bandit. We sit 15-4 and in first place of the league, fresh off our championship last season (for which we got a nice sized ring). We just finished a two-week road trip going 7-2 against two very good teams.

In a way, I'm living out all of those childhood dreams of getting to win championships, get hardware, and playing for and in front of thousands of people.

The perks of playing with the Bandits are unbelievable, especially when we are inside the Chicago area.

While the championship was amazing to win, the hardware is nice to show off and the perks are plentiful, I look at what I truly love about the game, and it's simple.

After every game there are hundreds of young girls scratching, clawing and pushing to get our signatures on a ball, a visor, a sweatshirt, a ticket or anything they have on them.

These girls are the future of the league, perhaps future Bandits. There is no greater satisfaction in the world than having someone ask you for your autograph.

Our league is in its infancy, and attendances and sales are disappointing sometimes.

However, when I look at those young girls' faces, I know what we are trying to build here and why we're working so hard to do it. We are trying to build a home for them so that they can get to live that lavish lifestyle I so dreamed about as a kid.

That lifestyle where all they have to do is play softball and train to play softball, year round.

Each child we take a picture with or sign an autograph for is a piece of our future. It is because of them and their smiling faces that I can say, "I love my job."

It's not every day you get to build something from a very small idea into a very large and stable institution.

What can I say? It's good to be a Bandit.

Editor's note: Rachel Folden is a catcher with the Chicago Bandits. The Bandits play their home games at Judson University in Elgin. For ticket information, call 1-877-7BANDIT, or go online at chicagobandits.com