By Julie Spittle.jpg)
GB Under-13 Manager
Following trials and training sessions indoors in March and outdoors at the end of April, coaches for the GB Under-13 girls fastpitch programme have selected the players that will compete in the 2018 European Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy (EMRYT) in Italy in August.
As usual, the team will travel to the tournament as the London Cubs, and this year will play in the Sport Division of the tournament alongside teams from Italy, Russia, Ukraine and The Nether-lands.
Trials
The first trial was held indoors on 10 March, run by newly-appointed GB Under-13 Head Coach Jodie Rushin and Assistant Coach Nadya Pavlova, who put the girls through their paces with re-gard to throwing and hitting. The coaches were joined by Betsy Holden, a previous Under-13 player and by Louisa Scott, a High Performance Academy athlete who has come through the GB programme.
The players showed us what they were able to do and we were given an insight as to how they had fared over the off-season. It was great to see the girls again after the winter break and to see how they had developed and changed in that time.
The group reconvened outdoors on 28 April, where we were able to see a few more new faces before making final decisions on the travelling squad. We were able to do live pitching and also work on catching technique as well as infield and outfield drills.
The squad
Our squad for the EMRYT tournament in Collecchio, Italy from 15-18 August is:
Matilde Crapanzano
Cara Edwards
Jessie Emery
Casey Johnstone
Campbell Lazar
Megan Longman
Alex McGregor
Amy Morris
Shinju Phalon
Cordelia Stevens
Chelsie White
Georgia Wilson
Melba Woodcock
Mili Youngman
Out of this squad of 14, six players – Cara Edwards, Alex McGregor, Chelsie White, Georgia Wilson, Melba Woodcock and Mili Youngman -- are traveling with us for the first time, while the other eight girls have all played in this tournament previously.
Training
Our training schedule leading up to the competition is:
Saturday 10 May: 10.00 am to 1.00 pm at Farnham Park
Saturday 26 May: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm at Farnham Park
Saturday 9 June: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm at Farnham Park
Saturday 23 June: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm at Farnham Park
Saturday 7 July: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm at Farnham Park
Saturday 15 July: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm at Farnham Park
Saturday 21 July: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm at Farnham Park
Saturday 28 July: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm at Farnham Park
Saturday 4 August: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm at Farnham Park
A pre-tour camp will be held from noon to 5.00 pm on Saturday and Sunday, 11-12 August, and the team will fly to Italy the following day.