For the second straight year, the GB Under-13 Girls' Fastpitch programme sent two teams – the GB Minimes and the London Cubs development team – to the ESF's Massimo Romeo Youth Cup in Collechio, Italy from 14-17 August.
Despite a number of late withdrawals, the two GB teams gave their all but came last in the standings once again – though this time, the Cubs finished ahead of the GB Under-13s.
GB Under-13 Head Coach Caroline Champion takes up the story:
This season, 54 players tried out for the Great Britain Minime (Under-13) squad, albeit late in the season so as not to clash with our feeder league, London Sports. This year, there was no funding to work in local schools with this age group, so there were no new players coming from this source.
The squad that was selected consisted of 30 players to be split into two travel teams, the GB Under-13s and our development side, the London Cubs.
But this turned out to be the year of unforeseen circumstances. From our squad of 30 players only 16 were able to travel in the end, which forced a change in the coaching staff's approach to the upcoming ESF Massimo Romeo Youth Cup. The decision was made to use this year as a building year and get all the girls as much playing time at the tournament as possible.
The London Cubs received five guest players from the host club Collecchio to make up their numbers, one of whom had played as a Cub in the 2012 tournament.
The weather fairy was good to us after we arrived in Collechio on Tuesday 13 August. Initially, we were reminded that Italy can be very hot, and with 38-degree temperatures, the players were wilting a little as they toured the Parma Baptistery and Cathedral as part of the cultural section of our tour. For the rest of the week, however, temperatures did not go over 34 degrees and Day One was practically British, with cloud cover and a little lunchtime rain.
Day One
It seemed that each day had a 9.00 am start for both the GB Under-13s and the Cubs. GB started off against Slovakia, going down 12-1 in three innings to a polished side. The Cubs' first game was against Moscovia Mini, a newcomer to the tournament. The Cubs started very well and were leading until the bottom of the fourth inning before going down 10-7.
Next up was GB v Moscovia Marino, who were last year’s runner-up, losing to Italy 2 in the 2012 final. The final score this year was Moscovia 22, GB 0. Although our pitchers gave it their all, it was hard to find the strike zone against the Moscovians, who are short in stature but have a very big game.
Then we went from smallest to tallest, as the Cubs faced the Czech Stars, by far the tallest of the teams in the competition, going down 15-0 in two innings.
Day Two
It was another 9.00 am start for GB v Italy 2, last year’s tournament champions, and the final score was 15-0 to the Italians, who were gracious in victory as it was during this game that GB’s shortstop Georgia Street was sent to the tent for treatment on what turned out to be a broken thumb after a ground ball took a bounce and caught the tip of her finger before carrying on into the outfield. Georgia remained calm and even attempted a relay throw on the play.
Both Team GB and the Cubs received glowing praise from officials and opposition coaches alike for their approach and attitude, celebrating each little victory within a game. After the loss to Italy 2, the girls kept spirits high by sharing a team song with the Italians after a good game.
For the Cubs, Italy 1 was the next opponent, and the Cubs put in a good effort but the game ended in a 20-3 victory for Italy.
The pools were then reshuffled, with the top teams going to a Page Playoff and the GB Under-13s moving into the same pool as the Cubs.
Day Three
9.00 am again, and both British teams were on the field. The GB Under-13s lost 17-2 to Moscovia Mini and the Cubs lost to Slovakia by 16-3, both teams fighting hard against tough opposition and putting some runs on the board.
At 5.15 pm, the GB Under-13s finally met the Cubs on the field of play. The Cubs consist mainly of development players and had a language barrier to overcome with their teammates from Collechio, but they bonded very well as a unit to produce their first victory of the tournament, beating GB 13-0 in four innings.
There were moments of brilliance from both teams, including double plays and good catches on fly balls, and both teams seemed to be in their element. Even the umpires, who of course have to remain impartial, commented after the game on how well the girls were improving and how much fun it was to be part of a game with such good energy.
This was the last game in the second round-robin and the next time the Under-13s and the Cubs were to meet would determine their final placings at the tournament.
Day Four
Yet another 9.00 am start on 17 August, and it was the GB Under-13s against the London Cubs. Both teams gave it their all over four innings, with good batting and baserunning and even tags plays at third base. But this year it was the Cubs who came out on top, moving up in the standings from eighth place to seventh with an 11-4 win over Team GB.
Italy 1 was the tournament winner this year, beating the Czech Stars in the final.
The Under-13 coaching staff is very proud of both British teams' performance and development. Changes will be made to the timetable next year, with selections earlier in the year and skills clinics coordinated with London Sports to ensure that our 2014 teams are stronger still as we continue to improve our game.
Photos by: B. Perkins, M. Esiri and L. Kholer.