At age 17, Mary Cain was one of the top runners in the world. She was the youngest U.S. athlete to compete on a world championship team. However, soon after joining a training program, her health deteriorated as did a promising professional career. Mary said that her coaches forced her to lose weight, which affected her menstrual cycle and caused stress-related injuries that included five broken bones.

Mary began to dread the sport she had loved since she was in fifth grade as her physical, emotional and mental health spiraled beyond her control. She developed an eating disorder, started to cut herself and developed suicidal thoughts. The all-male coaching staff at the program did not include a certified sports psychologist or a certified nutritionist to support the athletes. The head coach suggested that Mary obtain a subscription for birth control pills to help her lose weight. She said her mental health was damaged by the coaches who berated and humiliated her in front of other athletes.

Since leaving the program, Mary has spoken at sports forums to address the treatment of women concerning body image (she said this is more of a societal issue and that a lighter weight is more attached to a woman’s appearance and meaning). She said that weight issues permeate professional sports; it still matters for men, she said, “but the dialogue is different” for them.

Many additional women athletes supported Mary’s claims. The sponsor of that training program reviewed and investigated the issues. To date, results have included more women coaches for that program and investment in research to understand the impact of elite sports training on girls and women.

Mary has said that her goal is to ensure that no other athletes, particularly girls and women, have to go through similar suffering to improve their standing in a sport. She feels teams and training programs need to provide more support for young athletes that includes mental health counselors and trained sports psychologists who are separate from the coaching staffs. She also has called for additional certified training for coaches who work with young athletes.

Women’s sports have enjoyed many advances during the last several decades. But, there are so many more steps that are required to support girls and women that will allow them to excel at and fully enjoy their chosen sports.

Eddie Feigner never played a major league baseball game. But he became famous as a barnstorming showman with his four-man softball team.

Eddie’s team, known as the King and His Court, traveled around the world, similar to basketball’s Harlem Globetrotters. Along with Eddie, the team only fielded a catcher, first baseman and shortstop. Spanning more than five decades beginning during 1946, the team played approximately 10,000 games in all 50 states and more than 100 countries for 200 million fans. Many from Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx and Westchester recall seeing Eddie hold court.

The former U.S. Marine, whose pitches were clocked as fast as 104 miles per hour, was known for throwing from behind his back, between his legs while kneeing and blindfolded. A 2002 list of the 10 greatest pitchers featured Eddie along with Major League Baseball Hall of Famers Walter Johnson and Sandy Koufax.

Eddie’s most impressive feat may have been when he struck out six straight major league hitters during an exhibition game at Dodger Stadium during 1967. The batters were the top stars of the time—Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew. Each player won a Most Valuable Player award during the 1960s, and all but Maury are enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

To honor his service as a U.S. Marine, Eddie and his team often played against military personnel at bases and on the decks of aircraft carriers. Considerable amounts of ticket profits were donated to charity. Following Operation Desert Storm, Eddie placed veteran support as the chief charity for game proceeds.

Eddie made light of his relative unknown status in the sports world. When Sports Illustrated named him the most underrated athlete of his time during 1972, he replied, “I’m a pipsqueak because I’m caught in a nothing game. It’s like being a world-champion nose-blower.”

Eddie has been gone for about 14 years, but he remains vivid in the memories of so many fans and the many others he helped with the proceeds from the games.