The GB Junior (Under-19) Men's Fastpitch Team is planning to be competitive as possible as they head to Stenlose in Denmark to play in the European Junior Men's Championship from July 8-13, and will hope to pull off a few surprises with a squad that combines experience and raw talent.
Below, Head Coach Pat Weightman and Team Manager Ian Tomlin look at where the team has come from and what they hope can be achieved.
First steps
Junior Men's Fastpitch is still very much in its infancy here in the UK. This is only the second time since the early 2000s that a GB Under-19 Men's Team has been selected to play in European Championships. While there has not been a very large pool of players to choose from, there has been a variety of softball talent, raw athletic ability and eagerness shown by the players that have been selected to represent their country.
We have selected a mix of players from 15-19 years of age from different parts of England and Wales, plus one player from New Zealand. Some have been playing the sport for a few years, including players coming over from baseball, while others are very new to the sport and have only been participating over the past couple of years.
We have purposefully selected the team with a view to giving the players as much experience and game time as possible so that they can develop in the coming years. The majority of the team can return in two years' time for the next European Championships and this has been one of the big focus points-- to build for the future.
Team captain
We do have returning players from the team that finished fourth in the European Championships two years ago, with one of them, Carl Sharpe, being named as the team captain. Carl's leadership and influence on the younger players will be a valuable asset during the tournament. And throughout the competition,we will be looking for the next potential captain to help lead the team forward over the next couple of years.
With the wide mix of experience in the team, our preparation has had to be tailored to cater for everyone, from refining the basics of fastpitch softball through to the more complex parts of the game. All the players have responded well and have done the best that they can. There has been a noticeable improvement, not only among the less experienced players but in the team as a whole.
Team goals
Our aim in Denmark is to be competitive. There will be quite a few tough games for the boys, but if they can work well as a team then we will be able to stay in games and may even challenge a team or two.
We arrive in Denmark on Saturday, 6 July and have two training sessions booked for Saturday and Sunday before the tournament starts on the Monday afternoon.
If we do well, we will enter the playoff round on Friday afternoon.
GB schedule
Five teams are contesting the European Junior Men's Championships: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Croatia, Great Britain and Israel.
The teams will play a double round-robin, with the top four going through to Page Playoffs that begin on Friday afternoon 12 July and conclude with the final on 13 July at 5.00 pm.
GB's round-robin games are:
Monday 8 July
16.30: GB v Czech Republic
Tuesday 9 July
09.00: Israel v GB
16.30: Croatia v GB
Wednesday 10 July
11.30: GB v Denmark
16.30: Czech Repubic v GB
Thursday 11 July
11.30: GB v Israel
16.30: GB v Croatia
Friday 12 July
09:00: Denmark v GB
GB squad
The GB Junior Men's Fastpitch Team in Denmark will consist of:
Amit Aswani
George Blaskett
Jack Broddle
Damon Brown
Callum Church
Ben Easdown
Ieuan Gale
Sam Grafton
Rob Moseley
Tom Price
Josh Saunders
Carl Sharpe
Matt Tomlin
Reports on all GB games can be found on the British Softball Federation website: www.britishsoftball.org.