June 1, 2006

Coming from a large family, Ruthie Bolton is no stranger to competitive nature. It is what she likes, what she lives for. Being one of 20 children, Bolton discovered her competitive edge while playing with her brothers and sisters.

"I like being competitive and I grew up that way playing basketball with my family," said Bolton.

It wasn't until her junior year in high school, in McClain, Miss., that she realized what basketball meant. It just wasn't a game, but a way for her to go to college.

"Basketball was a game that I came to like," Bolton remembers, "and that I guess I was somewhat good at.

"I was just playing a game that I loved and then I woke up one day and realized that this was my opportunity to achieve something, so I thought that I would give it a shot."

That shot lead Bolton to Auburn where she would be the second Bolton to step out onto The Plains. Following in her sister Mae Ola's footsteps, it didn't take long for Bolton to come into her own.

Her four seasons at Auburn helped to make Bolton of the most well known players in Tiger history. During her four seasons, the Tigers compiled a record of 119-13, made four NCAA appearances and were runners-up twice for the National Championship. She contributed to three Southeastern Conference championships and received countless honors.

"Playing for Auburn taught me a lot," said Bolton. "I had to come in and prove myself, knowing that I had to work really hard to get playing time. That forced me to work extremely hard. Being at a program like Auburn gave me a huge foundation to get me ready for the next level."

With no professional women's league in the United States, the only choice Bolton had was to go overseas. Going overseas was no small step for Bolton or for women athletes in America.

"Everyone went overseas to continue playing basketball because there wasn't a league to be a part of in the States," said Bolton. "Being overseas definitely opened a lot of doors for women. It continued to keep women's interest in the game." Bolton became a pioneer for women athletes, playing in Turkey and Italy. In the 1990's, she became the first American woman to play in Hungary and Sweden, opening doors that had been locked to women.

The '90s were a time in Bolton's career that will live on as a large part of her legacy. During this time, she was a part of eight gold medal teams, including two in the Olympics ('96,'00), one bronze medal team, in 1991 became the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year and six years later she helped launch the WNBA into American lives.

"Once the league started in the States, people wondered where all of us have been," said Bolton. "Players kept developing their game and stayed sharp until they could come back home. So when they decided to create the WNBA, it was an easy sale for us." Basketball was a game dominated by men, but that wasn't going to prevent Bolton from playing the game she loved.

"We wanted people here to see that women could play basketball and that it could be enticing. Women may not be able to dunk like men can, but that doesn't mean that we can't play the game. We wanted America to embrace us and they did, especially after the Olympics."

Bolton played in the WNBA for the Sacramento Monarchs for eight years until her release in 2005, but she left her lasting mark upon the program and gave a voice to female athletes everywhere.

"Women now have respect in this sport. Before, men were hesitant to embrace women's basketball, but they see that we can play the game, play competitive and work hard. It's nice when we can play hard and tough, but still be ladies. That shows that we can be both female and an athlete, one doesn't prohibit the other."

As impressive as Bolton's basketball career is and what it did for women, what's more impressive is her character and her willingness, if not eagerness, to give back.

"As athletes, we knew we could play, but we also wanted to help young girls to have hopes and dreams of playing in the WNBA. We don't want them to always have men as role models; we wanted to be role models."

Today, Bolton spends her time as the basketball coach at William Jessup University, a Christian College in California. Still involved with the Monarchs, Bolton is the director of fan development for the team. She is also currently working on the Bolton Foundation for Youth, teaching a fitness class, and serves as a motivational speaker.

Bolton has such a sincere aspiration to help those around her and she wants them to learn from her experiences.

"I want people to know that life is wonderful. Things don't always go the way that you want, but you have to persevere. You can't let fear interfere with your opportunity to succeed or grow.

"If you fall down seven times, get up eight. I want kids to see that attitude is so important. People miss out on great opportunities by the way they respond to things and they miss out. My dad used to say, 'life is 10 percent of what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond to it,' and that is so true. Your character reveals itself through the hard things you go through. How you deal with those adversities is the makeup of who you really are."

This year marks the 10th Anniversary season of the WNBA. In honor of the celebration, a WNBA All-Decade Team will be announced. Bolton is one of the 30 nominated for this honor. Included in the nomination are some of the ground-breaking players as well as today's best.

"Being nominated feels great. I am just playing and doing what I love. I love being part of a team, the locker room and everything else. Receiving this honor would mean a lot to me. Being nominated by my fans, the media and coaches as one of the top 10 players would be a great way to go out."

But has all the hard work and sacrifice been worth it?

"There's a quote that says, 'the hardest thing to endure will be the sweetest to recall.' In college, we didn't quite win our championship, but you put that behind you. I went overseas and played and won two gold medals. That replaces not having that in college. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish I could put on my uniform and go out there and play because I love the game. You get so much out of it. I've gotten so much through basketball, and I want to give it all back."

* Story written by Audrea Harker