The Italian Youth Baseball5 national team will travel to Vauréal, France, on October 17 and 18 for a two-day international tournament, serving as the final test before the European Youth Championship in Policoro, FIBS reported.
Final International Test in Vauréal
The upcoming fixtures in France mark the last competitive checkpoint for the Azzurri before they host the continental championship. Manager Maurizio Balla and his coaching staff will use the weekend matches in the transalpine locality to evaluate player conditioning and tactical execution under match pressure.
This international event represents the concluding phase of an evaluation process that began in late August. The squad’s progression follows a wide-scale talent assessment at the fifth edition of the “Cuore delle Alpi” tournament in Aosta, which established an initial pool of young athletes for national consideration.
Selection and Training Pathway from Aosta to Rimini
Following the initial scouting phase in Aosta, the technical staff narrowed the roster for a intensive training camp held in late September in Rimini. That session focused strictly on technical adjustments and tactical refinements identified during the Valdostana tournament.
The upcoming games in Vauréal will determine the final roster selections. “After Aosta we made choices, we worked in Rimini, and this tournament in France will be another fundamental step to understand where we stand,” Balla said, according to FIBS. “The teams we will face are of a very high working standard and will fully test our qualities.”
European Youth Championship Hosting Duties in Policoro
Italy will host the European Youth Championship from November 11 to 14 in Policoro, located in the southern province of Matera.
“Playing a European Championship in Italy represents a very important occasion, both for our national team and to further make known and spread Baseball5, particularly in Southern Italy,” Balla said, as reported by FIBS. “We hope that there are many people to support us: being able to play a European Championship at home is an opportunity that does not happen every day.”
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