Kyira Cox has a mantra whenever she steps on a softball diamond as an Umpire, ‘balls & strikes, safes & outs, just another game of softball’.

Little did she know, chanting that mantra would lead her to the most prestigious appointment a softball umpire can receive, Plate Umpire for the Gold Medal deciding game at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

There’s no bigger occasion in the sport, and Cox, who was appointed to officiate the Olympics by the WBSC back in January of 2020, had a less than ideal preparation due to the ever-present Covid and constant disruptions to tournaments which would have normally provided valuable preparation for sport’s biggest stage.

She was whacked with the news of the Games’ postponement, and like all athletes around the world, Cox was among hundreds of officials who had to extend their preparation for a further 12 months.

At the time, she was working with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) which helped her manage through the period of unknown.

“I was in a really good position where I was working at the time at the AIS which allowed me to talk it through with some people that were also experiencing the same situation,” said Cox.

“I was the only Official appointed at that stage in the AIS but a lot of other people there were still in their qualification stages.

“But being able to talk to them and develop some strategies and plans was really beneficial.”

Japan double their lead!

2-0 in the 5th!#Tokyo2020 | #7Olympics | #Softball pic.twitter.com/q9jAnSVEFB

— 7Olympics (@7olympics) July 27, 2021

Once the shock of postponement subsided and it became apparent to the world Tokyo 2020 would push ahead, Cox’s attention had to quickly turn towards preparation.

Softball Australia’s National Championships were off the table due to the threat of state lockdowns, meaning key tournaments where she’d see quality pitching were off the table.

“I thought I’d have the 2021 Nationals and potential international series, thinking I’ll get some games towards the back end of 2020 and into the summer.

“As we got closer and more and more events either got postponed or cancelled, I did start to worry, this is the biggest event of my career, how am I going to prepare for it?

“So I took any opportunity I could get, I probably didn’t umpire anything until the Over 35s State Championships in January, that was the first softball I’d seen since March 2020.”

It was a similar situation to the Aussie Spirit squad who would also rely on the summer of softball to get in much needed game time.

So when the aspiring Olympians set their training camp schedule, Cox made sure she was available to fine tune her own skills.

It provided her the opportunity to get a feel for international calibre softball in her own backyard.

“Thankfully the Aussie Spirit training camp was in Canberra around February and March where I made myself available for all bar two games that I couldn’t make,” added Cox.

“So that was great to get involved with the girls in that Aussie Spirit camp and call a few games seeing the quality of pitching I’d see in Tokyo.

“Then when the second Aussie Spirit camp was relocated to Sydney, I made every effort to get to that, I saw a lot of pitches come through.”

The camps were a saving grace for Cox and her Olympic preparation and while it wasn’t ideal, compared to some of the other umpires in Tokyo, it was comprehensive.

Play ball! #JPN vs #USA for 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇!!!!!https://t.co/FmJhQtigxg#Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Softball pic.twitter.com/p39IejRDgj

— WBSC ⚾🥎 (@WBSC) July 27, 2021

“Realistically, I had about ten plate games and probably ten base games under my belt, which was a lot more than some of the other guys in Tokyo had due to their own lockdowns.

“Some of them had seen a lot of softball being part of the college system, and then others only really got a chance to see live pitching a month before the Olympics.”

Importantly for Cox, on top of seeing world-class pitching, she also had the chance to get a ‘shocker’ out of her system.

During the Aussie Spirit’s final camp in Sydney, Cox admittedly had a poor performance behind the plate, but rather than wallow in self-pity, she took the opportunity to re-set and re-build towards Tokyo.

“I take the negative performances hard and I’m probably my own toughest critic,” said Cox.

“I’ll admit, and the girls would admit, I had a pretty bad game in one of those plate games, but it allowed me to have that ‘fall’ so I could at least then re-build.

“You can’t be perfect all the time, so it was actually good to have that crushing realisation and then be able to re-build off the back of it.”

Not wanting any opportunity to officiate pass her by, it was right back on the horse for Cox who had no hesitation in getting back behind the plate.

“I tend to go back to the basics, I’ll speak with a mentor and talk through it asking was it timing, or tracking, or this or that,” said Cox on how she bounces back from a tough game.

“I guess it does come down to consistency, I know from a playing point of view, your umpire’s zone may not be textbook but providing it’s consistent from inning one to inning seven you’re generally fine.

“I want the players to play the game, I don’t want to be making calls that makes me noticed, I’m quite happy for them to say ‘who called that game?’.”

Now back on track and confident in her own game, it was on to Tokyo for the Olympic Games, and like the competitors, it was certainly going to be a Games like no other.

Covid protocols extended to everyone involved in the Games from Tokyo volunteers, to team officials, to sport officials and of course to athletes.

It meant travelling in smaller groups, tightly scheduled transport protocols, vacating venues when you weren’t needed, anything that was going to reduce unnecessary interactions.

Given Cox’s first appointment was the final game of opening day, she was confined to her hotel prior to arriving at Fukushima stadium in the afternoon.

“My first game was Canada and Mexico in the round robin, and it was the 3:00pm timeslot, being the last game of the day, it was an unusual one because there was only a couple of us left at the hotel after the first crew had left.

“I was the only one left at the hotel because I hadn’t been working earlier games so I just had to try and keep within myself, and not let myself get too carried away, I couldn’t leave my hotel room but I was okay with that because it allowed me to channel in.”

When her Olympic debut was suddenly upon her where Cox would revert back to her mantra behind the plate so as not to let the scenario over awe her.

“I was pretty nervous going out onto that game, knowing that we really only had one chance to get it right, with 13 umpires on the crew for 17 games, we knew there was only a handful of us that would get more than one plate.

“So knowing you had to nail that first one to have a shot at more, my legs were shaking for probably the first inning, but then I realised, it’s just another game of softball, I have a bit of a motto; ‘balls and strikes, safes and outs, just another game of softball’.

“So after that first inning I kept coming back to that motto and it was fine from there.”

That same mantra Cox has used throughout her career led to a strong performance on diamond and on sport’s biggest stage during the round-robin fixtures.

Knowing she had her a solid tournament, Cox thought she may have been in for a shot at getting a spot in one of the Medal Games, in the back of her mind also knowing it simply wasn’t possible for every umpire to get a coveted appointment.

She certainly wasn’t expecting to be given the plate of a Gold Medal Olympic game.

The moment of victory on home soil for Japan!

They defeat the USA 2-0 in the gold medal match!#Tokyo2020 | #7Olympics | #Softball pic.twitter.com/No0bFe91u3

— 7Olympics (@7olympics) July 27, 2021

“After the last round robin game, we all got pulled into the umpires room by the Umpires Director Robert Stanton, and he’s sitting there with a piece of paper,” said Cox.

“I was pretty happy with how my week had gone so I wasn’t exactly expecting to have a spot in the Gold Medal game but I was happy with what I’d done.

“So he lists the umpires for the Bronze Medal game and I wasn’t in that list, then for the Gold Medal game he says, ‘plate umpire is Kyira Cox’.

“I was right next him and I’m thinking to myself ‘okay don’t say anything, don’t react, let’s find out who the rest of my crew is’ and all while thinking ‘is this happening!’”

After the initial shock had subsided, Cox said the support from the rest of the crew was incredible and something she’ll remember for a long time.

At an Olympics like no other, bonds are built pretty quickly with those you’re stuck with under such a pressure packed environment.

“Looking around the room and everyone’s just beaming smiles at me, Robert went through the rest of the list and I couldn’t tell you who my crew was. I just put my head in my hands and started to cry a little bit.

“I went through the rounds of everyone congratulating me, it was a shock and I allowed myself to ride the emotions that night and got the craziness over and done with so I could wake up the next morning and just prepare.”

The Gold Medal game itself between softball powerhouses Japan and USA went just the way Cox would prefer, in the sense that anyone outside of her friends, family and the Aussie softball community wouldn’t immediately recall who had the plate.

For Cox, it was simply balls & strikes, safes & outs, just another game of softball.

“I got off the game and we finished at like 10:15, the bus was leaving at 10:30,” Cox said of the moments immediately following the biggest game of her life.

“So I had to de-compress, process, get changed, pack my gear and be on the bus in fifteen minutes.

“It was when I was packing my belts in the dressing room that I’d realised what I’d done, there was maybe three people in the room. I just stepped back and went ‘did I just call the Gold Medal Game at the Olympics?’ and I just started to cry again!

“The whole thing sort of came at once, but it was fleeting and then back to what I needed to do.”

Her performance at the Olympics and appointment to the pinnacle of the sport is just reward for someone who’s dedicated much of their life to the sport in both a playing and more recently umpiring capacity.

“I did say to someone prior to leaving for Japan, ‘I just hope I can do Australia’s program proud’ that was the one thing I was fearing a little.

“And I spoke to that person when I got back and they were like ‘and you were worried for what!’”