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Nora May Garcia
Softball
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Nora's softball story started at the age of 12 in California, a place she called home for a time. Here she developed a love for softball.
Upon moving back to Puerto Rico, she was invited to play for one of the most prestigious traveling teams in Puerto Rico. She played short stop, and then was invited to try-out for the Puerto Rico National Softball Team. She made the team and went on to play in numerous international tournaments. 1980- VI Campeonato Centro Americana y del Caribe de Softball Femenino Guaynabo, P.R- Gold medal In 1982 after giving birth to her daughter Noriada (2017 LatinSports Flail of Fame/Softball), Nora only had two months to train for the Central American Games in Cuba winning a Gold medal.
1988- IX Campeonato Centro Americana y del Caribe de Softball Femenino- Curacao-Gold After playing with the Puerto Rico National Team for 10 years, she became a softball coach, where she taught girls including her daughter all about the game. 2015- XI WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship Oklahoma City, Oklahoma- Bronze Medal 2017 XII W BSC Junior Women s World Championship Clearwater FL.-Bronze Medal 2017 Puerto Rico National Softball Team: World Cup -Oklahoma, OK. Canada Cup-Canada Panamerican Qualifier-Dominican Republic She always strived for more, so decided, coaching was not enough, and put her soul into another part of the game, umpiring. She made a name for herself umpiring baseball in Puerto Rico, where she became the only woman to umpire an All-Star Game for the Puerto Rican Professional League.
In a sea of men, she was the only woman on the field, but that didn’t stop her from pursuing her dreams which have taken her to many countries. She worked even harder to become an International Softball Umpire, which led her to become the first Hispanic Woman ever, to umpire or referee in an Olympic game at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. 1993- Became an I5F umpire 1993- XVII juegos Centro Americanos y del Caribe- Ponce, Puerto Rico 1994- Clasico Panamericano de Softbol Femenino-Guatemala 1995- XII Jue9os Panamericanos — Argentina 1995- World Softball Congress and qualifier for the 1996 Olympic Games- Atlanta, GA. 1997- IV Campeonato Panamericano de Softbol Femenino Mayores-Medellin, Columbia 1998- IX Campeonato Mundial de Softbol Femenino- Valencia, Venezuela She became a coach once more but now at the collegiate level, and took over the softball program at Missouri Valley College where her daughter Noraida excelled. Nowadays she is a busy Grandma, Mother, and The Pitching Coach for the Puerto Rico National Softball Team.