A man from Faenza at the court of Fortitudo Baseball Bologna. It’s about Gianluca Polia 46-year-old computer scientist who in recent weeks received the assignment for the role of ‘Pitching Coach‘ or coach of the pitchers of the Bologna club, one of the most prestigious teams in Italy. A goal in some ways, perhaps even a launching pad, certainly an adventure that will be stimulating for Poli, who approached the discipline “thanks to the Youth Games – he recalls -. I met the founder of Faenza baseball Germano Merendi. And from that moment the passion for baseball has never left me”.
First as a player and then as a coach due to “an injury that no longer allowed me to play at the level I wanted”. So in Imola, where he played as a player, Poli moved from the field to the bench, and from 2019 to 2025 he was coach at Godo. “I also had the opportunity to coach the Under 23 national team and the Under 18 national team.” Moreover, leading the Azzurri in the most iconic country for baseball: the United States of America: “I believe that this is one of the greatest satisfactions that a coach can experience”, specified Poli.
More generally “Representing your country is something that goes beyond sport. And you have the opportunity to get to know closely how baseball works at an international level. In America, where I participated in the “La28″ camp in 2024, and in Japan in 2025, we were able to see how this sport is approached, observed new techniques and acquired fundamental experiences”, he said, referring to Fortitudo Bologna.
A sporting discipline, that of baseball, which in Italy “exploded in the 1980s – observes Poli -, then the growth stopped. In recent years, however, the federation has worked a lot in the right direction. Baseball is not yet part of our sporting mentality because it has an indefinite playing time and involves separate phases of attack and defense, characteristics that are far from the Italian idea of sport. Today we need to continue to invest, collaborate with organizations that know how to bring young people together and build a broader sporting culture”.
Having begun his experience in Bologna, Poli, who continues to divide his time between professional commitments and field activities, remains tied to the Faenza club in which he grew up as a sportsman: “We talk often and they are building something important. I would like to say to children and young people that baseball offers great opportunities: those who start today can go far, even at an international level. This is why I say to try without fear and first of all to always have fun.” Roberto Bertoni (with Poli in the photo), president of New Faenza Baseball, is also proud: “Despite his commitments, Gianluca is always close to New Faenza Baseball. We are linked to Poli by esteem and a deep friendship and we are happy that the children can see Gianluca as an example”.
Damiano Ventura
