Nadia Martinez

California – a few months ago, Nadia Martinez and her 16-year-old daughter, Brianne Matthews, embroiled in an unusual conversation about life and death.

Martinez is not sure what led to the discussion, but I felt a bit strange when Mathews told her quietly how she would like to be remembered after her death.

“She wanted her ashes to be scattered all over the baseball field because that’s where you live it,” Martinez said of Matthews, who had a monument in the 14-4 record as a student in the last year, Mater Dei (CA) in high school. “It does not matter where. As long as it was the baseball mound. This is where the dominated.”

Always outstanding success, you’ve got to play Matthews off the diamond and softball. Loaded on a 4.0 point average in the class academically test Mater Dei and is committed to pursue a career as newborns. Despite being only in the second year of high school, Matthews has already accepted a full ride scholarship to play college ball for a national force Arizona after graduating in 2012. The Phenom.

Socially? Forget about it. At 16, Matthews had friends for several days, thanks to the dynamic personality and her soft huge following. No.1 considered the possibility that lead young people in the country, and Matthews was a way to attract the masses, and had grown into a flute nature of the sport.

For unknown reasons, however, Matthews did not feel right in this role, and on Feb. 25, she killed herself just hours after returning home from baseball practice.

A tragic end in the lives of young people with the promise of a lot.

And ending, which left a lot of question marks.

“I do not want to talk about suicide,” Martinez, who was found dead in a Matthews Anaheim at the apartment, said FanHouse recently. “I do not want to talk about what might have led to them … we can only speculate, I do not want to do that. The answer is not going to be good enough.”

According to official reports, and sent the night of Matthews’ death, Anaheim fire and police to the family’s apartment in the girl not breathing. Paramedics administered by the Committee of Permanent Representatives to the girl and taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead PTV at 8:22 in the afternoon.

In Orange County medical examiner’s report ruled out Matthews’ death in a suicide attack, “hanging rope.”

“I do not think it was their own,” said Bill Jackson, who coached Matthews for a period of three years ago when she was playing on the road, a young travel softball team based in Orange County. “It was depressing. Hear everything shows us that what was thought out a bit. She knows what to do and how to do this. … Teenagers and the Internet at the present time. I do not think we’re ever going to know why I did it.”

In the last week, standing room only crowd of more than 1,500 attended the outdoor Matthews in Huntington Beach sports complex, softball and multi-site field where many of the games we have played them.

High school players and players travel were encouraged to wear uniforms, and most of them did not. With the stage set behind second base and the rest of the softball diamond is full of well-wishers, afternoon and saw more than a tribute to the aftermath of family and friends took a long time to talk about Matthews and Bri called by family and friends.

“Sometimes, you meet people and you know right away which was supposed to be there [in your life ]…” He said Shannon Bustillos, a colleague in Orange County Batbusters, group travel Matthews joined a year ago. “Does anyone know Bri, I know it was full of life, love and happiness. They laugh that anyone can be heard. Hug that can crack the one in the back and landing [pitch] that no one can beat.”

Martinez, and the ceremony was an appropriate sendoff.

“We’re with it for a moment by moment, day after day,” said Martinez. “That’s really all we can do. It is not unimaginable.”

“Bri just love the sport, she’s probably got to me … but it was different. It was very driven. They compete in everything I did in life. It just went after everything 100 percent, I do not know where I got it from. I do not know what is their motivation, but it was very, very motivated.

“That’s just who they are. If she was going to throw the ball, and she was going to throw harder and farther than anyone else. If on the way up, it was on its way to hit harder and further than that. … I do not know this is just how it was. ”

Pressure of Sport

News of Matthews’ death traveled quickly among the followers of Southern California, softball, and the community where everyone seems to know each other. This is because it’s basically not.

For years – from primary school to university – the same group of softball players and parents not only to play and travel together, but they compete against each other on a regular basis through the grades, and local associations and park teams travel.

“The softball community is a very small world,” said Jackson, who led Matthews for three years with the fireworks. “The entire country is on the phone and the Internet and everywhere else. We are in a society very touch, and although we are very spreading geographically.”

It is this kind of family environment that may be added to the grief. Many families can relate to applications that come with the sport.

Cindy Kelly, who lost her daughter Gina Matthews began to play against when they were both nine, is one of those parents.

“It was just a terrible shock,” said Kelly Matthews, who reportedly gave her the day she committed suicide a sports bag, a colleague and told her it would likely not needed in the next day. “I do not know if she put a lot of pressure on themselves or what. But the thing is, she had so much going for them. Had a full ride for college and a bright future. You just have to think that everything was well with them.”

Some people who participated in the softball believe that sport is very competitive nature that has evolved to become a major problem for the players today. Too many working under difficult circumstances and hopes to make it to the highest level, which increased the additional pressure on their lives.

“You realize that these children give up many many hours to develop the skills of softball,” Southern California soft veteran Paul Morines said arbitrator. “They sacrifice social time with friends. They spend every weekend on the ball field. Some days they want to go home, but they can not because they have to play.

“I am always impressed at how these children are willing to give up a lot of time to dedicate themselves to sport one in order to be first-class softball athlete. But this is the only way you’re going to get a scholarship for yourself.”

According to Morines, and this is one reason why Matthews was considered a hero in the eyes of many.

“These kids are hard core and Bri was probably the epitome of that type of ballplayer,” said Morines. “Everyone looked up to her as a model of the commitment you need to make in order to go to a higher level as far as possible.

“I only have one game umpired with last year and can tell you it was very one child. It’s definitely had a presence on the field. It’s just staring you down. And I knew they had put in hard work to become very good.”

Always All-Star

Hen young players for coaches and crusty old, but it was always “and show Bri” where Matthews was around. Ability can be dominated to attract this kind of attention.

“It’s very clear we think fondly of Bri and talents,” said coach Mike Candrea Arizona, which together with the apparatus was attended Matthews’ greeting. “This is why we wanted it to be a Wildcat.

It wants to achieve things in life. I tried everything, and she excelled at and physically, is the star in any sport
- Bill Jackson, former coach “This was a very special athlete. A very special student. Worked hard to be the best at what she did.”

Referee Mike Carver, who was working a lot of matches involving Matthews, said he will always remember how they played.

“We have about the game for over 20 years, and you can spot a child with that much talent a mile away,” Carver said. “She threw at least 70 miles per hour, this is a good thing. I know that some people may not agree but I think [Bri] was good or better, such as [the United States Olympic gold medal pitcher] Jennie Finch.”

Matthews – who grew up in a modest with her sister and her mother and stepfather, Diondre Price – played a variety of sports. After excelling in everything from basketball to volleyball, she was taken to soft after Martinez signed her to get young people in the league when she was 8.

“She does not know what he had to go half speed, literally, with everything done,” Martinez said of her daughter, who had a 0.94 era with 138 strikeouts in 107 innings in last season for Mater Dei.

“I remember when she was 8 or 9 years, and it was just the beginning of set lessons. Monument to coach in the time wanted to slow down and feel what she was doing with a monument. Until they have moved even closer to the fishing, and I told her to take time so it can be felt by on the pitch.

“But my daughter can not do that. It just can not slow down. They threw the ball as if it were paid in full distance. That’s just how it was. All I have done, I did so with utmost speed.”

It never back down attitude that has helped Matthews separate from their peers. And was known to arrive at practice early to warm up for warm-ups, and was always the last person who wanted the promise of a ride home after practice.

This is because Matthews also put in overtime to work on her game, and often seen as training more than once, only one half of the practice had ended.

“And expressed its desire to achieve two things in my life,” said Jackson. “I tried everything, and she excelled at and physically, is the star in any sport.”

Matthews, who was a complete list of career goal by the time he began to play for Jackson when they were in the age of 11, as proven the harshest critics.

“Bri always kind of a small cloud in her life,” said Jackson. “It was a happy child who worked hard but always had a small cloud. Personally, I do not know why. But it was there.”

In tribute to Matthews, Jackson addressed the rumors that surrounded her death.

“People say different things,” said Jackson. “They come to me and say: Do you think it was pressure? Do you think it was her boyfriend? Whatever, really does not matter now. This is all that I did not want to do, and this talk about these issues. I was trying to point out that If you’re even discuss what might be, which gives you the credibility of one of these reasons may be good enough. ”

It was outside the scope of sight whispers that bothered Martinez more since the death of her daughter.

“The toughest thing was coming to grips with the fact that your child is no longer here, and you did your best but it was not enough,” said Martinez. “You can not help but think about why he can not do more than that.