Fjords of Dreams
by Mickey Smith

For many athletes a chance to play college sports is the final
opportunity to play organized team sports. For Lamoille Union graduate
Heather Cook, college softball was just a stepping stone to an
opportunity of a lifetime - playing professional softball in Sweden.
After one year at Stetson University in Deland, FL, Heather transferred
to Barry University where she spent three years on a top 10 Division II
softball team. She made the team as walk-on, the term used to describe a
player who tries out for a college team without being recruited, but had
trouble beating out the recruited players for much playing time.
"I didn't play much at Barry," said Cook, "I was a walk-on and
collegiate level athletics is very political."
The Hyde Park native explained college coaches have a loyalty to the
players they have recruited to play on the team. They want to have in
the lineup those players they worked on recruiting, not someone they
hadn't noticed. In her senior year, Cook finally got some playing time
as one of two designated hitters on the team.
Though her playing time was limited, her name was brought up when
players were recruited from Division 1 and 2 schools for a professional
league in Sweden. Cook and a friend from her Stetson days, Kelly Gardner
of Stamford, CT, both made the team, joining one other American who had
played for the team the year before, shortstop Becky Manson, who also
played college ball at Central Michigan.
"They had about 60 players they were deciding among for the spots on the
team," said Cook, "they usually only bring two Americans, but they
really wanted Kelly and I, and also Becky, who played here last year."
The league consists of about a dozen teams spread geographically around
Sweden. Cook plays for Nalsta Baseball Softball Klub's "A" team, a team
located in Stockholm. Currently Nalsta is undefeated, having won their
first 18 games in a row, which has already qualified them for the
semi-finals to be held in September. While that feat in itself sounds
impressive, they will have to win every game the rest of the season in
order to duplicate last year's run.
The rules for Americans are quite restrictive in the Swedish league.
Only two Americans are allowed to play at any given time. The rules are
even more restrictive for pitchers, limiting their starts during the
regular season and playoffs. To make matters worse, they cannot have an
American catcher working with an American pitcher. So the former Stetson
battery, can't work together during league games. Their only chance to
pitch together is in tournaments, which are played around Europe.
Cook said her team is coached by Emily Fertig, who coached most of her
career in California, including a stint at Fresno State.
"She says I'm the 'best catcher in Sweden' and by far the best field
general she has seen play," said Cook. "That's a compliment considering
she has worked at a top Division 1 school like Fresno State."
Recently, Nalsta competed in a by invitation only tournament in Holland,
competing against teams from the Czech Republic, Holland, and the U.S.
They took the gold, beating the American International Sports Tour's
team. Other tournaments have taken Cook to travel through or play in:
Denmark, Germany, Amsterdam and Apeldoorn in Holland, Paris,
Switzerland, and Italy.
"Venice, Italy, was just the most amazing place," she added.
Though gaining in popularity, softball in Sweden has not reached the
upper echelon of sports. Footboll (soccer) and hockey still rule the
roost in Sweden. In fact, Cook and the two other Americans brought a lot
of equipment with them for the team, because it is not readily available
in Sweden. She was very appreciative of Green Mountain Sports, in
Morrisville, and Kevin Smith's Sports in St. Albans, for their
contributions to the team.
Because softball is still an evolving sport in Sweden, part of the
American players' jobs is to serve as coaches. She said most of her
teammates have about five or six years experience playing softball.
"It's nowhere near the competitive level of college softball in the
states, but they bring us over in hopes of some day getting it there,"
she said.
The club also has a junior team, made up of 11-17 year old girls who
they help coach and train, including a two-week training camp.
The talent, she said, is there, the Americans help with the mental
aspect learned growing up playing softball. Cook said many of the
players have the talent to play at the Division 2 level of collegiate
softball in the states. Sweden does not have a collegiate sports
program. In fact, they are not allowed to do both.
"You don't go to school and play sports here together, it's one or the
other, that's why many come to the states to play different sports,"
said Cook.
The players serve as ambassadors of the game, often helping out in
schools, where sometimes they are introducing softball to kids for the
first time.
"They have something along the lines of baseball called bremball, but
it's very different," said Cook. "The little kids are always trying to
incorporate it into baseball."
Cook said her hitting was slow to come around, but she feels she has
done well at the plate.
"It was actually pretty hard at first going from a 62 mile per hour
fastball in college, to 35-45 mile an hour fastball here. I was popping
up like crazy!"
While she prefers hitting the 62 mph fastball (because it goes farther
when you hit it), she does like the less experienced pitchers.
"All they have is a fastball here, no drops, curves, screws, hardly a
change-up, it's much easier to hit when it's right down the middle."
While it's professional ball, Cook said the players aren't getting rich.
They are given an apartment, which is in Gamla Stan, one of the oldest
and nicest parts of Stockholm. They are also given a cellphone, a
buscard (for public transportation) and a small monthly stipend for
expenses.
"Stockholm has thousands of tiny islands on the east coast, many people
have summer houses there, so we are often out there, on the islands, or
sailing."
While she is very grateful for the experience and wouldn't have missed
it for anything (she turned down a job in the Dade County State's
Attorney's office in Miami, FL to play ball), after this season she will
be heading back to Florida (in early October) to begin preparing for law
school. Cook is the daughter of George and Dorothy Cook of Hyde Park.
In January, Heather will begin the application process. Her top choices
are Emory (in Atlanta), George Washington (in Washington D.C.), American
(in Washington D.C.), University of Minnesota, or Washington University
(in St. Louis).