The United States Women’s National Softball team is a devoted supporter of the Special Olympics movement. In honor of their support, Haylie McCleney joined the Inclusion Revolution Radio podcast to talk about their partnership with Special Olympics and give advice to young athletes. Haylie is a professional outfielder on the Women’s USA Softball team and a strength and conditioning coach at Florida A&M University. Her success started early when she got on the Women’s National Softball team at only 19 years old. Originally from smalltown Morris, Alabama, she has diligently trained, won multiple medals, and competed in the 2020 Olympics. Haylie learned a lot from peers and coaches as a mentee about pushing herself to be her best and now gives advice as a mentor to young athletes.
Players from the Women’s USA Softball team often attend Special Olympics events to get to know the athletes and learn from one another. Haylie mentions that one of the core values of the Women’s Softball team is that no one individual is bigger than the team and inclusion is at the forefront of everything they do. Haylie and her team want to help shine a light on the Special Olympics movement. She said, “Life is a team sport, and if we can add more members to that team, we’re all going to be better in the long run for it.”
You can listen to the entire episode with Haylie McCleney here and don’t forget to subscribe to Inclusion Revolution Radio to stay connected with the Special Olympics movement.
