Bessie Noll won't celebrate her 16th birthday for another year, but she's already got a sweet swing on her future.
Noll hopes her experience as the starting center fielder for Musashi Fuchu's little league baseball team in the competitive Tokyo League will give her an edge toward securing a softball scholarship at a Division 1 university in the United States. She believes her experience within the competitive system of male-dominated Japanese baseball has given her perseverance, determination and a reflective perspective to bridge cultural divides.
Noll came to Japan with her parents when she was 8 years old, a third-grade tomboy with a passion for sports. Enrolled at the American School in Japan, where her parents are both teachers, she immediately joined the elementary-school swim team. T-ball had been her favorite sport back in Minnesota, so as soon as her parents settled from the move and found a little league team nearby, Noll joined.