USA Softball Announces 2020 "Stand Beside Her" Tour

USA Softball has announced its training tour, called "Stand Beside Her," for the lead up to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

The main message of the tour is unity, as the United States women's national softball team attempts to regain the gold medal at the Summer Games for the first time since 2004.

“The message ‘Stand Beside Her’ isn’t just about our team,” 2019 U.S. women's national team member Janie Reed said in a press release. “It’s about us standing beside the girl that wants to be where we are one day, it’s about men pledging to stand beside women in full support, it’s about standing beside the United States of America. The title is so much more than a catchy phrase and we are so much more than softball players, so I think it’s perfectly fitting.”

The complete tour, including dates and locations, will be released at a later date, but it has been announced that the team will compete at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla. and the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. Softball America has also learned that some university stops may include Stanford, Oregon, Alabama and LSU.

USA Softball is set to host the 2020 Olympic Team Selection Trials Oct. 1–6 in Oklahoma City, Okla. Training Camp is tentatively set to begin in November, with the tour starting in February.

Softball will make its first appearance at the Olympic Games since 2008 next July, with the gold-medal game scheduled for July 28, 2020.

"This venture will prepare our team, Team USA, for the opportunity to regain the Olympic Gold Medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," Team USA head coach Ken Eriksen said in a release. "The schedule will include not just exhibition games against some of the top collegiate programs in the country, along with some potential games against pro teams, but will also include sections of the spring to train as a team in great environments. I look forward to seeing the patriotism and support the soon-to-be Olympic athletes deserve.”

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