Advocating for the Growth of Baseball 5: The 2027 Edition at the Arena

Not to mention that the head coach, Nicolas Havelange, also plays at the Arena, in baseball 5. “And he was elected coach of the tournament, in the standard team drawn up at the end of the competition,” mentions Mikaël Despontin, who went to encourage his daughter Maëline and gave a helping hand (stewardship) to the Belgian staff, with other parents. “The team was relatively young, because three of them had still participated in the U17 Euro last year, in Sofia. They had a good competition. They lacked a little strike force and were perhaps felt a little pressure in the final phase. But in their group, they played their game well. And in particular against Italy, who surely thought they would have an easier task against us. There was even a slight hint of disappointment as in the final phase matches against the Netherlands and Spain, who were not out of reach. With a little skill, the podium was in the sights. On the other hand, Lithuania and France, who were competed in the final, were clearly superior, we knew that. It remains an enriching experience, which suggests great prospects for the next edition, in two years.” exposes the famous Gesvois pilot.

The 2027 edition at the Arena?

They would be even more so if more clubs invested in this indoor version of baseball. “It’s unfortunately always the same debatedeplores David Delvenne. The majority of clubs do not want to hear about it, even though it is not competition, but complementarity. Personally, I had to stop playing baseball 5, because of my 38-year-old knees (laughs). But I remain convinced that the future of our sport lies there, in Europe. It is not for nothing that it was added to the program of the Youth Olympic Games in 2022…”

The practice therefore remains confined to a few clubs (Andenne, Binche, even Seraing, in the south of the country) and to tournaments, in Belgium, but also in France and the Netherlands, where the enthusiasm is greater. The “Black Bears”, in any case, will insist. “The City of Andenne is ready to develop, at the Arena, a high-level national center, if possible in collaboration with the Federation or the League. It is even astonishing that these authorities have not yet jumped on the opportunity, when we know all the difficulties encountered in many entities to find available rooms”, wonders the president of a club which will organize its Open on March 9. And who even applied to host the 2027 European Championship.

2023-11-13 14:08:26
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