The title quote indicates that despite the success of the women who were interviewed for this research, many of them felt ill prepared to access the system of collegiate softball. Yet the women interviewed represent Latinas who successfully navigated family and educational structures in their quest to compete in collegiate softball. Four focus-group interviews and 17 individual interviews were conducted with 27 former and current collegiate softball athletes. Critical sociological analyses illustrate the interdependence of sport, family, and education, especially as they interact with colonial projects. Findings suggest that softball may be an integral, though contested, resource in a network of resources engaged by this select group of U.S. Latina student athletes.
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