As an exception, Mitch Stephan (left) is not standing on the edge of the field in the jersey of the “Füssen Royal Bavarians” this weekend, but in the Bavarian national colors.
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Füssen – State Cup instead of Bundesliga: The “Füssen Royal Bavarians” will not be playing next Saturday, June 18th and Sunday, June 19th, as the best U15 junior baseball players in Germany are visiting Füssen for the first time and showing what they can do in the sports park have it.
Mitch Stephan and Johannes Krumm from the “Füssen Royal Bavarians” are standing on the edge of the field, as they are both part of the Bayern team’s coaching staff. In the interview they talk about their chances, what the tournament means for the players and how Füssen became the venue.
What exactly is the National Baseball Youth Cup?
Johannes Krumm: “In the DBV Jugend Länderpokal, the best young players – up to the age of 15 – from each regional association (federal state) compete against each other to play a tournament spread over two days and to determine the winner.”
In addition to Mitch Stephan, Johannes Krumm is also part of the Bayern team’s coaching staff.
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How are the U15 players selected for each state?
Crooked: “In Bavaria we always have an open selection in autumn, where the best young players from all clubs have the opportunity to present themselves and prove their talent. Thereafter, on average every three to four weeks throughout the winter, we offer day courses where we offer the most talented players training to develop them further and to pass baseball know-how on to their home clubs.”
Are players from Füssen also taking part in the tournament?
Mitch Stephan: “Unfortunately, no player from Füssen made it into the final squad for Bayern this year. Colin Bloomer was in the extended squad for a long time but didn’t make it in the end. The competition this year was extremely strong.”
Conserve strength
What is important in such a championship?
Crooked: “In the regular season, the youngsters usually only play on the weekends. In such a championship, however, the team has to play four to five games over a weekend, which is much more strenuous and requires more stamina. So you have to manage your strength well and make sure that the players maintain their motivation and concentration until the last game, which hopefully will be the final. Also, there is little room for slip-ups as you have to win almost every game to finish at the top.”
What does this championship mean for baseball and the team?
Crooked: “A tournament like this really bonds a team and shapes the future. When I look back on that time myself, the training weekends and the national cup were the greatest. You could represent your own state, stand on the field with your buddies and compete with the best players in your age group. That is still one of the highlights of my baseball career to this day.”
Stephan: “For baseball, it’s mostly a national team and professional sighting tournament. We expect coaches from the national team and scouts from professional teams.”
Are there clear favourites?
Stephan: “The usual suspects are always Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg. These are the strongest associations and they usually work it out among themselves.”
What chances do you calculate for Bayern this year, especially from a coaching point of view?
Crooked: “We’re going into the tournament as the defending champions and again this year we have a very strong team that prepared very well in the winter. So our goal is definitely to keep the trophy in Bavaria.”
Many helpers
How is it determined where these championships take place?
Stephan: “In autumn you can apply to host a wide variety of competitions organized by the German Baseball Association in the following year. We applied to host the youth national cup and the German youth and junior championships and were fortunately awarded the youth national cup.”
How complex was it to organize such a championship here in Füssen?
Stephan: “Organizing events is always very time-consuming and requires the help of many volunteers, who once again made a major contribution to the fact that we can hold such an event at all. The biggest challenge in this tournament was to organize a second pitch. Thanks to the support of the city of Füssen, TSG and FC Füssen, we were able to win the TSG pitch as a second pitch. It will be converted into a baseball field for the weekend’s tournament.
The second big challenge was the locker rooms, which we don’t have at the ballpark. Here, too, we were able to fall back on the changing rooms of the TSG gym. A small beer tent will also be set up for the catering of the teams. So all in all it’s a bit improvised, but we’re already proud of what we organized in advance and we’re looking forward to a great event with hopefully the best baseball weather.”
Do you plan to do something like this here more often?
Stephan: “We would like to organize a larger event in Füssen every year from now on. But then hopefully not on the long weekend of the Pentecost holidays.”
When and where does the event take place?
Stephan: “The tournament takes place all day Saturday and Sunday in the Sportpark Füssen, King’s Field and TSG Platz. Of course, entertainment and catering are provided and admission is free.”
Rita Carlino
