Canadian Mom and Pitcher Lauren Regula: Third Time's a Charm

The Inner Circle with Carrie Doll

Lauren Regula’s first appearance with softball Team Canada came at the 1999 Junior World Championships in Taipei. She joined the senior national team in 2002, helping Canada to a ninth-place finish at the world championships. She made her Olympic debut at Athens 2004, starting five games and being in the winning pitcher in all three of Canada’s victories. Following a fifth-place finish at the 2006 World Championships, Regula missed the entire 2007 season with a wrist injury. But she was healthy enough to return to the Olympic Games at Beijing 2008, helping Canada to a fourth-place finish as she recorded two victories.

After the heartbreaking loss in the bronze medal game in Beijing, Regula retired and didn’t pick up a ball for eight years. She started a family, having three kids. She has since been open about the postpartum depression she began to suffer from in 2012. It continued until 2018 when she says she hit “rock bottom” and finally got the help she needed in the form of therapy and hormone therapy. After a long road to recovery, she has said she feels like she has “a new lease on life”.

It was in 2016, while she was still struggling with postpartum depression, that Regula came out of retirement and pitched her way back to a starting role with Team Canada, winning a bronze medal at the WBSC World Championships. In late 2018, she suffered a small tear in her left hip labrum and did not throw again until she was invited to join Canada’s training camp from which the 2020 Olympic team would be selected. In her third Olympic appearance, Regula pitched 5.1 innings in three games. She struck out seven and did not give up a single hit or run as Canada won the bronze medal.

Regula played collegiately at Oklahoma State University, primarily as a pitcher but also in the outfield when not on the circle. Over her four seasons with the Cowgirls she was a member of the All-Big12 conference team each year. In her senior season in 2003, she struck out 451 batters on her way to a 26-10 record, was awarded the OSU Female Athlete of the Year and named a First Team All-American. After having finished at OSU, Regula joined the National Pro Fastpitch league for two seasons. She posted the first no-hitter in Chicago Bandits history in 2005 on her way to a 17-1 record, earning Pitcher of the Year honours. In this episode, Lauren breaks down her struggles with guilt over being away for the Games, her love of her family, what gives her strength and drive, and shares the importance of perseverance in the face of hardship.

She's such an inspiration, sharing lessons we can all apply in our everyday life about the importance of showing up for yourself, surrounding yourself with people who also support you, and giving yourself the grace to be the best version of you that you can be.

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