TEAM USA SOFTBALL … Bryan High School junior, Amiyah Langham (above) played for Team USA this summer as she had completed a nine-day softball adventure to Germany from July 28 to August 5.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
It was an opportunity of a lifetime for Bryan junior softball standout Amiyah Langham this summer.
She would take part in a nine-day softball adventure to Germany (July 28-August 5) where she played for Team USA, which was sponsored by America’s Team out of Overland Park, Kansas.
Langham, who is a shortstop for the Bryan Lady Bears, where she had played a big part in the school’s best couple of seasons in program history, a Division II state runner-up finish (freshman year) and a Division IV regional runner-up (sophomore year).
Her own interest about playing in Germany evolved when she had gotten a text from her coach, Dennis Seymour telling her about the opportunity.
“He just asked me if I was interested in playing for Team USA,” said Langham. “I didn’t know anything of it. I’m surprised that I got a text and didn’t know what it was. Then me and my mom (Amanda) and my dad (Eric) looked into it more.”
The America’s Team program shows athletes the world through sports, according to its website. It introduces players to a foreign country, its people and culture while playing softball at the same time.
She then reached out to a former Bryan softball player, Scout Smith, who had previously gone through the same organization several years ago going to Italy and playing softball.
“So, we were like, this is real and then we would decide that we would,” admitted Langham. Once she grabbed the opportunity to play softball overseas, the fundraising part of the trip would eventually begin.
In February, she hosted a spaghetti dinner at the Pulaski Methodist Church where all of the funds totaling $6,000 that was raised for her trip.
“That was really nice,” said Langham in regards of the spaghetti dinner. “It was nice to see how many people had my back in the community and how many people wanted to help me out. It was really exciting for me.”
Having already completed the fundraising part of the trip, Langham admitted that she was nervous not knowing who would eventually become her teammates for Team USA this summer and being halfway across the world.
She would become a part of Team USA featuring softball players from several states including Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona and Oklahoma. Langham along with her mother, flew from Detroit to Chicago and then non-stop to Munich, Germany on July 28.
“It was a very long flight, and it was late at night, so I just slept the whole time,” admitted Langham.
“My plane was actually delayed, so I missed that connecting flight in Chicago. So, I got there later than all of my teammates did.”
After arriving in Munich, the team had their first practice together, thus beginning her own bonding with the rest of her new teammates,
“We split up into like five different groups,” said Langham. “So, I got to bond with my group really well and we also practiced with the Germans. Some of them were in our group and it was like really nice to get to know their experiences.”
It became a learning experience for Langham in terms of fundamentals between the two countries. “It’s very different,” added Langham. “Well yes, the game part isn’t different, but they have older people playing.”
“You can play at any age over there, so that was really different, and it was kind of really cool for us to see. We were all surprised when we got there and we saw a 58-year old playing with us.”
“I was kind of blown away that they can still move and play at that age. One girl had robbed a home run, and it was cool to see.”
Langham had the opportunity to do some sightseeing which included a visit to the World War II Memorial in Dachau, before going to downtown Munich for lunch and shopping and then playing a game that night.
“The route to the Memorial was really cool,” said Langham. “I’m excited to show my history teacher when I go back to school. It was really cool to see the history there, but it’s also really sad.”
Other places that Langham had visited during her trip was taking a bike tour of Munich and also touring Frankfurt, Bavaria, and Heidelberg.
She had split her time between second base and shortstop throughout the week as the team won all seven games played including two friendly games while gaining valuable experience.
“It also really makes me grateful for like what we do have here in the United States,” said Langham. “They (Germany) don’t have the training that we have over here, and they just don’t have that same experience as we do over there.”
Having spent nine days in Germany, Langham admitted it was finally time to come back home and fix her sleep schedule.
“I had a really good time while I was there, but I think a week was definitely enough to like to get to see and experience everything,” said the incoming junior.
“It kind of opened my eyes of how thankful I should be with the training I get and the facilities that we have here in Bryan.” In addition to softball, she is a three-sport standout at Bryan competing both in soccer and basketball.