Veronika Pecková and Michal Holobrádek, support of Czech softball teams.
Czech Softball Association
“It was a bit of an emergency virtue, but rewarding. The girls showed courage when they played against the pitchers, who threw fully, “praised the national team coach Vojtěch Albrecht, who was especially glad that he finally has a team together.
“As we are not a professional sport and the girls study and work, we could not meet, only once a week online. We had our first training camp at Easter, when we were given an exception, and after the release we intensified our preparations, “says the team coach, who longs for the first medal after six years and ideally the premiere gold.
Veronika Pecková at the pitch as part of a promotional event on Prague’s Náplavka.
Czech Softball Association
To do this, they will have to leave behind the Dutch and Italians, ie the teams that shared all the titles in the previous 21 years of the European Championships.
The championship will take place in Italy from June 27, the winner will secure promotion to the World Games next year in Alabama, USA, which are a kind of substitute for softball after leaving the Olympic program again after Tokyo.
The Czechs will rely on the biggest star, pitcher Veronika Pecková, who has already played in the elite Japanese league. “If I get a visa, I’ll fly there again in early August. Then I plan to move to New Zealand, “says Pecková, who defends the colors of Ledenice in the extraleague.
It is there and in Sezimovo Ústí that the Men’s European Championship will start from Monday, where the home team will attack the fifth gold in a row. Spectators will also be able to take part in the final day on June 25 in Ledenice, tickets will cost one hundred crowns. “We want to win and we don’t admit anything else,” says coach Jaroslav Korčák.
The year before, the Czechia hosted the World Cup for the first time, the team has changed since then, and ten players ended their national team career. But the star remains the pitcher Michal Holobrádek. “I hope we finish second worst,” he says.
The finalists will advance to the World Cup in New Zealand, which was moved to November 2022. The biggest rivals should be the Dutch and the Danes.
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