CHERRY TWP — With a softball in her right hand, 9-year-old Claudia Allen winds up and lets a pitch fly.

It hits the red padding in the Moniteau High auxiliary gym with a thud.

Leah O'Brien-Amico, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in softball, approaches the youngster. She gives Allen a tip, holding her right arm pointed straight up to the ceiling, then guides it downward to simulate a pitch.

O'Brien-Amico once was a 9-year-old learning the finer points of softball.

Now, as one of the most decorated Americans in the sport, she is passing on her considerable knowledge to young players at camps like the one held at Moniteau this weekend.

"I vividly remember the camps I attended," O'Brien-Amico said. "I went to camps with some of the girls I would eventually play with on the Olympic team. I wanted to learn from the best."

The young girls at this camp are learning from the best, too, as O'Brien-Amico has quite a resume in the sport.

The Eastvale, Calif., native was a star pitcher and position player on her high school team before moving on to the University of Arizona.

While with the Wildcats, her career continued to blossom. She won three national championships at Arizona and finished her career with a .428 batting average, 53 doubles, seven home runs and 181 RBI. She still hold the Women's College World Series record with a .750 average.

Once her college career was over, O'Brien-Amico joined the U.S. national team, which won gold medals in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics.

As a 9-year-old, O'Brien-Amico never imagined anything like that was possible.

"I think I just went because I loved softball and I wanted to get better," O'Brien-Amico said. "It wasn't until college that I kind of realized there is a whole other level to represent our country that I didn't dream was available."

To this day, her Olympic experience gives her chills.

She traveled to Australia and Athens, Greece. She mingled with the greatest athletes in the world in the Olympic Village.

She also got to meet former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda.

For a Southern California girl, that was a big deal, she said.

O'Brien-Amico is saddened that softball no longer is an Olympic sport.

"I'm so disappointed," she said. "There are going to be many young girls growing up who don't have that dream."

Allen isn't worried about the Olympics. The Slippery Rock native is simply trying to figure out how to pitch better, she said.

Allen said having O'Brien-Amico teaching her is "pretty awesome."

O'Brien-Amico meets many girls like Allen in her travels.

With three young boys at home and numerous motivational speaking engagements, some years she appears at more camps than others, but she makes it a point to return to Western Pennsylvania each year.

Danny Hindman, the Moniteau High softball coach, said he will bring O'Brien-Amico to Moniteau every year as long as he is the coach.

"They certainly can't learn from a better person," Hindman said. "She brings out her gold medals and shows them to the girls. That's pretty good motivation."

Even O'Brien-Amico still has to practice.

On April 9, she will throw out the first pitch at a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim game.

The last time she tossed out a first pitch, she was disappointed with her effort.

"I short-hopped the catcher," O'Brien-Amico said. "I'm just praying I don't do that again. I need to practice so my nerves don't get the best of me."

Even O'Brien-Amico is human, something that comes through when she talks to her young prodigies.

"The best part for me is meeting these young athletes and, hopefully, encouraging them to work hard. I am a normal person, very average size, who was able to follow her dreams.

"I had talent, but I had to work very, very hard and have the right attitude to get there. I want these girls to know I was once in their shoes."