Superstar athlete a leader off the field as well Published Jan. 11, 2006 By Master Sgt. Marilyn C. Holliday 353rd Special Operations Group Public Affairs KADENA AB, Japan -- Twyla Sears may have some awesome moves on the court, but she can’t shake the awards and recognition that have followed her. She plays basketball, volleyball, softball and any other sport that’s around – bowling, too. And for that, she was named the Pacific Air Forces Female Athlete of the Year and the Air Force Female Athlete of the Year. Her Air Force-level award was presented to her during ceremonies in Orlando, Nov. 30. Most recently she was named the Air Force Services Agency’s Female Athlete of the Year for 2005. The power production journeyman, assigned to the 353rd Operations Support Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan, makes the time for sports wherever she’s located. She was an Air Force spouse before becoming active duty and she played “ball” in England, Germany and Japan for 9 years as a spouse. But, her sports days began basically at birth, when her father had a glove and ball waiting for her when she came home from the hospital. “I’m not joking,” Sears said. “My mother told me the stories.” “I remember going out almost daily,” the 32-year-old California native said. “Someone in our family was always playing.” Sears was part of a traveling softball team in high school and even awarded a softball scholarship to a university in Illinois. Today, mother of 10 and 12-year-old boys, she and her husband, Staff Sgt. Donald Sears, are also active in sports with their children, taking the cue from her dad, who coached her until her senior year in high school. “I make time for my family and I make time for myself,” she said. “When it comes to teamwork, I have teamwork with the people that I work with and with my family. Sports are a release for me. But, if my husband didn’t support me, there’s no way that I could do the things that I do.” “Since Sergeant Sears, as an athlete, had successfully competed at the higher levels of competition, I felt that it was important that she be afforded the opportunity to be recognized for that accomplishment,” Dawn Pierce, formerly of Kadena’s 18th Services Squadron, now at 15th Services Squadron at Hickam AB, Hawaii, said. “We see many athletes who are fortunate enough to be able to compete at the Armed Forces level, but when one advances to national competition, where they compete against the Air Force’s top athletes, it’s a remarkable accomplishment.” Sears claims that if it weren’t for the “pushing” from Ms. Pierce, she never would have thought of competing for the Air Force award. “I don’t play sports to be recognized. I play sports because I love sports,” said Sears. Sears has deployed seven times in the last two years and has played in 9 softball tournaments this year alone. She was the starting pitcher for the All Armed Forces Women’s Softball Team in 2004, winning the All American Award and leading the team to win the Western Regionals Softball Tournament. She then went on to take the team to second place in the Amateur Softball Association National Tournament. She is a member of the Kadena Women’s Softball team, that earned the Pacific-wide Softball Championship title in 2005 and the pitcher for the 353rd Operations Support Squadron Over-30 softball team that took the base championship title. In addition to awards won on the field, Sears was presented the Distinguished Graduate Award at Airman Leadership School in December 2004 and was named the 353rd Operations Support Squadron Airman of the Year for 2004.