.jpg)
By Jo Malisani
Selections have now been made for the GB Under-16 Women’s Fastpitch Team for the 2019 competition season.
The GB team will compete at the European Under-16 Women’s Championship in Zagreb, Croatia, from 29 July-3 August, and will be seeded fourth based on their result at the last European Under-16 Championship in 2017.
Fifteen countries will take part in the tournament, and the GB Team has been drawn in Pool a for the initial round-robin along with the Czech Republic, Croatia and Israel.
In preparation for the European Championship, the team will travel to Surrey, British Columbia, Canada to participate in the Canada Cup Showcase Select International Softball Tournament from 5-8 July, followed by a few days of training and scrimmages against local teams.
The GB Under-16s will re-convene in Zagreb on 25 July for another short training camp before the European Championship starts.
Selection process
For the 2019 season, the GB Women's Fastpitch Programme held a Selection Camp in Plant City, Florida from 5-10 January. The camp was open to all athletes wishing to trial for the Senior, Under-22, Under-18 and Under-16 Women's National Teams.
In addition to the Selection Camp, the Under-18 and Under-16 GB Women's Teams held a trial in Milton Keynes in the UK on 24 February. Those athletes unable to attend the Selection Camp and/or the UK trial were required to submit video evidence of testing protocols -- athletic, defensive and offensive -- as well as game footage.
Following the Camp, the UK trial and receipt of all video submissions, a GB Under-16 Selection Panel convened in early March. The Selection Panel consisted of the Under-16 coaching staff and two external selectors whose role was to ensure that selections were made fairly and transparently, based on the criteria set out in GB Softball’s Selection Policy.
All athletes who trialed for the 2019 GB Under-16 Team were contacted regarding selection decisions, and athletes who were offered a spot were required to confirm that they would accept their selection to the Preliminary Roster.
The players
The GB Under-16 Preliminary Roster is shown below (athletes with an asterisk are returning players from the 2017 Under-16 squad).
Athletes may be added or removed from the GB Under-16 Women's roster at any time at the discretion of the Head Coach.
Ivy Clark*
Sadie Cope
Cara Edwards
Imogen April Gie
Lana Holden
Kira Kenny*
Megan Longman
Carys Lynch
Scarlett Patience
Amyah Pierre
Sidney Jane Rose
Georgia Grace Wilson
Claire Xavier
Mililani Youngman
.JPG)
Coaching staff
Joining the GB Under-16 staff this year is former Great Britain Junior National Team member Alexis Markham-Hill, who said: “We are excited to have selected this young team of athletes to represent Great Britain in two prestigious international tournaments this summer. The next few months will be busy as the athletes continue to train hard to ensure we arrive prepared and ready to compete. This is the first time that the GB U-16s will compete at the Canada Cup and we’re really looking forward to coming together as a team to take on this challenge before we head to Croatia for the European Championship.”
The full GB Under-16 staff this year will be:
Head Coach: Jo Malisani
Assistant Coach: Joss Thompson
Assistant Coach: Laura Thompson
Assistant Coach: Sian Wigington
Assistant Coach: Alexis-Markham Hill
Physiotherapist: Edwin Lam