The British Softball Federation is excited to announce the new staff of the Men's Fastpitch National Team.
Darryl Herrmann has been hired as the new Head Coach, and Simon Thacker will be working with him as the new Team Manager.
Darryl Herrmann
Darryl has been playing fastpitch most of his life. Growing up in South Africa, Darryl learned the game playing as a youngster in their premier league. He went on to represent the Great Britain (GB) Men's Team at 5 European Championships from 2005 to 2014, winning 3 bronze medals in that time. He also represented GB at the 2013 World Championship where GB finished 9th.
He has had a long career playing with the London Meteors fastpitch club here in the Great Britain Fastpitch League, playing and coaching. He's had played a key role improving the quality of competition in the league as the men's division has gone from strength to strength in recent years.
In 2023 Darryl took on the Head Coach role for the London Meteors and led the team domestically and overseas, leading the team at the Men's European Super Cup, and to a gold medal in the Baltic Cup.
He now turns his attention to building off last year's first European Championship since 2018 for the Men's Team, and we are excited to see him get to work.
Upon his hiring Darryl commented, "I am really looking forward to working with the players and team staff as we drive the men's program to the next level. We have some exciting plans for this year as we begin our preparation for the 2025 European Championship."
Simon Thacker
Simon has been part of our community for many years now. His son Charlie has been playing for the last several years and originally Simon was just supporting him as he's grown, developed and become part of the Junior GB Men's Program. Since then Simon has slowly become more and more involved in supporting British Fastpitch.
In recent years he has taken on informal supporting roles, particularly during the 2023 U16/18's Men's European Championships, and earlier this year with the Eagles Trip to Zimbabwe. But now Simon has decided to take on a more formal role, and we are thrilled to have him on board!
Simon said, "I've had the opportunity to help out with logistics in the past, but when this opportunity arose I thought it was time to give something back in a formal way. I am an avid fan of the sport and I look forward to working with Darryl, the other Head Coaches, Team Managers, players, and all involved in the GB Softball program."