Farragut softball's Addison Pressley competes for Team Japan in International Challenge
When Farragut softball outfielder Addison Pressley took the field under the Japanese flag on June 24, it was a special moment for her family, especially her grandmother, who was born in Japan and immigrated to the United States when she was 19.
"I felt really proud to represent her home country, because I felt like I was honoring her and all my other ancestors that lived in Japan," Pressley said. "I was always carrying that with me and knowing that I'm representing my family and that this game is bigger than just softball."
Pressley represented Team Japan at the Triple Crown International Challenge, a tournament for athletes with international heritage who are citizens of the United States or Canada. The tournament, held in Denver, included teams representing 19 countries with players from across the country. Pressley's Japanese teammates hailed from Alabama, California, Georgia, Hawaii and New Jersey.
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"It was really unique because you're playing against the best of the best the whole time," Pressley said. "You're constantly being pushed, and there's this competitiveness because everybody wants to like make their families proud and represent their culture. It was really cool to see the other teams' heritages and how they're different from ours."
According to the 2020 census, only 1.7% of Knoxville residents are Asian, so Pressley rarely gets the chance to interact with other Japanese Americans outside of her own family. She said playing with other girls who share her lived experience created a powerful bond between them.
"There's not that Japanese heritage in east Tennessee, and I love east Tennessee, but it's really cool to connect with these people on a deeper level," Pressley said. "It was just really cool to see some of the things that I've grown up doing or eating ... that some people might find weird, but then I play with these girls and that's all normal to them."
Pressley, who batted .414 and stole 20 bases for Farragut during the high school season, helped Team Japan to a fourth-place finish in the tournament. In the inaugural International Challenge in 2021, Japan finished 14th.
The team was chasing the legacy of the Japanese national softball team, which defeated Team USA 2-0 to win the gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Japan also won gold in 2008, the last time softball was competed at the Olympics prior to the Tokyo Games.
"It's kind of like we're a younger version of them," Pressley said. "I love softball, and I knew that this was a way for me to express who I am through that. Getting to be around other girls that are Japanese and share the same interests and passions as I do was really exciting."
Contact Emily Adams at eaadams@gannett.com or on Twitter @eaadams6.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Farragut softball's Addison Pressley represents Japan in tournament
