By Jill Painter, Staff Writer, Whittier Daily News
She’ll still watch the London Olympics, even though softball no longer is an Olympic sport.
The La Mirada native is determined to help get it back. Finch, one of the most recognizable softball players in the world, has a full plate.
She has two young boys and now lives with her husband, former Major League Baseball player Casey Daigle, and two boys in Sulphur, La., on a farm. There, she has inventory for her JennieFinchstore.com, in which she sells everything from bags to gloves to those glittery headbands she popularized. She ran her first marathon last year. She’s running softball camps and travels the country for speaking engagements.
QUESTION: What will it be like watching the Olympics with no softball?
ANSWER: It’s going to be hard. Of course, I never want to take anything away from the Olympics or the other athletes competing. The whole softball community will be USA’s No. 1 fans. It’s hard knowing our sport isn’t there.
Being a female athlete, opportunities are only getting bigger and better and to see it wiped away, now in an Olympic year, I think the reality will be setting in knowing our sport is not there.
Q: What do you think the odds are softball will be back in the Olympics someday?
How are you involved in that effort?
A: It’s hard to say. It’s going to be a tough battle. We were No. 3 for 2016 and rugby and golf won. We’re No. 3 on the list. If there’s 28 sports, if I understand, there has to be a sport taken away for us to be taken back, unless softball will be our own entity. The federation hasn’t made it clear if we’ll campaign alone or with baseball. I think that will determine a lot.
We’ll see. There’s another vote in 2012. We’re trying to spread the word, not only in the U.S. but all over the world. Any time you can get in front of national committee members, it helps our sport.
Q: What Olympic sport are you most looking forward to watching?
A: I’ve been glued to the trials. It’s such a special and magical time once every four years. Having played in two and met quality athletes, like Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, I’m cheering them on and all U.S. athletes. As for team sports, we got to know the soccer team. We’re team sport sisters with them.
Q: So you live on a farm in Louisiana. How did that happen and did you go kicking and screaming?
A: We were torn. (Daigle) and I were in Arizona and didn’t have family there. We’re both close to our family. Our offseasons are so short as it is and half the time we were in California and half the time Louisiana. We had to decide one way or another and we leaned this way. Casey is definitely a Southern boy, and he loves the country and loves everything about Louisiana. I love the family atmosphere here and being able to have land. It’s a great place to raise a family. It seems as though it’s worked out. My online store is based in Louisiana with camps and clinics, too. We have storage for our camp inventory. Eventually we’ll build more. We have a 3,000-square foot apartment inside the barn. The kids have an enormous indoor play arena, and through rain or shine they can go play.
We have a couple of basketball courts there. There’s a big area to roam and run.
And, it’s bug-free.
Q: How do you deal with the bugs?
A: It’s probably one of the hardest things about moving here. In Southern California, you open the door and get a breeze. Here you open the door and bugs are everywhere. They’re attracted to light, so they all come flying in. We have Terminix on speed dial. They come out quite a bit.
Q: What has it been like for you and your husband to transition from professional athletes to other careers?
A: With me, I’ve been able to still continue to stay busy and be plugged in with sports. I’ve had pro league camps and clinics and that’s a nice way to stay in contact with the game and to be able to share my passion with others.
Casey is loving it. After 12 years of living on the road, he’s ready to be at home with the boys. He’s working hard around here. We’re always doing something with the property. There’s endless work to do around here. I’m usually gone once a week, but usually for 24-36 hours. I go in and out depending on the event.
Q: You recently had another child, Diesel, who’s 1. What’s it like being mother to two children (Ace is 6) and how does that affect your schedule?
A: It’s absolutely amazing. It’s better than I could have imagined. It’s hard to put into words. Every day I fall more in love with these little guys. They rock your world in a delightful way. I thought my heart couldn’t get any bigger and that I could love another child as much as Ace, but I do. I’m about my relationship with Casey and all about these little guys.
It’s been so fun seeing them grow and have their own little personalities.
Q: What message do you hope people get from your book, “Throw Like a Girl?”