The point scored in the final of the Italian Cup, to close the circle of a season full of raised trophies, for Saronno Softball, from the beginnings on the softball fields, to the bronze of the last European Championships, passing through the injury of 2021, in this interview we know the second base of the national team and champion of Italy Alessandra Rotondo.
Hi Alessandra, tell us something about yourself.
Hi, let me introduce myself, I’m Alessandra Rotondo, I’m 22, I live in Senago, in the province of Milan and I love Softball.
“I got into this sport at the age of 5 by pure chance. Although I was very young, I had already had the opportunity to try other sports realities, such as swimming, athletics and football, but none of them had involved me to the point of wanting to continue. One summer day my uncle invited me to attend a week-long baseball summer camp in Senago. I remember as if it were yesterday that the first day I went home crying, convinced that I never wanted to go back. And this is where my parents come into play (whom I will never stop thanking), for convincing me to give a second chance to what would become the sport of my life, and return to the camp the next day. Since that fateful second day I have never stopped playing softball. Literally.
For three years I played on an all-male team. In 2010 my adventure in the world of softball officially began, in Bollate. In 2011 and 2012 we won the scudetto in the girls category and in the same year my first call-up to the national team arrived, at the European U13, where we won the title. In 2015 a new turning point: I change company and start my adventure with the Saronno Nerazzurri shirt. In 2016 comes the first ever championship of the Saronno company, in the cadet category. In 2018, however, my first call-up in the Seniors national team arrived for a tournament in Australia (Asia Pacific Cup). From then on, I had the honor and the pleasure of continuing my Azzurro dream with the jersey of the “great” national team.
The achievement of all these goals was possible thanks to a very special person for me: I’m talking about Enrico Obletter, whom I want to remember and thank.
Enrico was the first to believe in me, to give me a chance, to push me beyond all limits, to make me grow as an athlete but above all as a person, to encourage me in difficult moments, to teach me that in life those who give up are lost. With his disappearance everything has changed, but he is always on the pitch with me; he never stops making himself heard, encouraging me, motivating me. After every ball, every throw, every beat I always feel his hand on his shoulder that he tells me never to give up.
Last year in the first championship at Nuoro, the knee gave way (operation, rehabilitation, Championship, Cup, Olympics lost.
What did it mean for you to lose all these events (especially the Olympics which is not an everyday thing)?
“” The year 2021 I think was the most difficult and intense of my entire sports career. During the off-season months I started winter training (gym, weights, running) and unfortunately, with all those workloads, I suffered a severe back injury that prevented me from continuing to train for about a month. So I started the various treatments, and I can guarantee that the rehabilitation was not at all easy. After a lot of hard work, however, I finally managed to get back into operation, ready to resume what I had left in stand-by. At that moment I was super motivated to do well, because I knew that the most important year of my life would be ahead of me. I had great expectations of playing a good championship, playing the Cup Winners’ Cup in our home and the European Championship in Ronchi dei Legionari and finally, fulfilling the dream of any athlete: participating in the Tokyo Olympics, in Japan.
None of this went as I hoped. During the first league match, in Nuoro, running from third base to home base I felt my knee “crash”. I’ll never forget that pain. At that moment, inside of me I had already understood that it was a very serious injury and that it would not go away with just a few months off. When I received the surgeon’s diagnosis, “Rupture of the right anterior cruciate ligament”, the world collapsed on me. I felt a mixture of sadness, anger, disappointment, resignation, depression and I could go on …
I decided to have surgery right away, so that my mind could be busy with rehabilitation. I didn’t miss any of my teammates’ games: I followed them all on TV and the last ones from the bench.
This injury really taught me a lot. It has certainly made me stronger than before and made me understand that you must always appreciate the little things, never take anything for granted because at any moment it could slip out of your hands. “
This year, after a year of stoppage, you come back and win the championship …
“” “After so many months of rehabilitation, we are finally back on the pitch. It was a very strange feeling to take back the glove, spikes and club and go back to doing what up until that moment had literally broken me in two. The first workouts were very useful to regain confidence in the little things, in the details: sprints, changes of direction, jumps …
During the first part of the championship there were many ups and downs, both at the team level (we weren’t always able to be concrete and get the result) and, above all, on a personal level. I didn’t feel safe. I asked myself a lot of questions, I had so many doubts: will I ever go back to the way I was before?
How long will it take?
I didn’t expect to get back in shape right away, but I don’t deny that with every negative turn or wrong ball I felt a lot of anger.
I therefore decided to take everything lightly and make sure that my return to the field was something positive and constructive for me. And it was at that moment that I was able to see the first improvements: the team started to win, I did well and from here on it was all downhill. The summer period with the national team (which lasted 40 days) helped me a lot: it allowed me to play many games, train a lot and gradually recover all that I lost in 2021.
After the various rallies, the European Championship and the World Games in Alabama, I return to Saronno with more awareness of my means. We leave immediately for Spain, in Villadecans where the Cup Winners’ Cup is held. We were flawless: in 7 games played, 7 wins. Right there, on Spanish soil, we realized how good it is to win and we never stopped. We went through the playoff finals with scary grit and determination. When we reached the final we were not afraid, we faced our opponents with our heads held high and we earned the Scudetto.
The first for the Saronno Softball.
It was the victory of a group that never gave up and that made their weaknesses their winning weapon. In order not to miss anything, we decided to close the season with the icing on the cake: we also won the Italian Cup. After a truly terrible 2021, 2022 was magical. I never expected such a satisfying return, even in my most optimistic forecasts. I had to understand that it was enough to have patience to be happy again.
One last question, you are very young but already with a good international experience, in the last European Championships, as we have seen, nations such as Israel, Greece, England, Ireland also participated in the “classic” Netherlands, Czech Republic, Spain and Italy. not having a national championship. What do you think?
“” I believe that wearing the national team jersey must be considered an honor, a privilege. Sometimes we forget the value of a call-up for the national team. That shirt must be worn with respect, trying to best represent your country and all those girls who would pay gold to be in your place. The teams you mentioned to me do not have their own national championship. For this reason, I think it would be more correct to first develop the movement within one’s own country. In this way it will be possible to choose the most deserving girls directly from their homeland and start appearing in competitions of international level. “”
