IRELAND COME CLOSE
The Irish Little League Team did the country proud at the recent Little League European Championship in Kutno, Poland.
A squad of fourteen eleven and twelve year olds from seven counties were selected to represent the Irish League. Fourteen countries representing the elite of European Little League Baseball assembled in Kutno to compete in a tournament with the winner qualifying for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Despite receiving very short notice of our participation and having little or no time to train together, the team equiped themselves extremely well. We played hard and competed throughout the week coming close in two games, twice only losing by one run. It was an incredible experience for the players, the coaches and the supporters. It was great to know that we can compete at this level. The team got better and better throughout the week and gained enormously from playing and training every day. We learned a lot from our encounters with the other teams.
We have a lot of work to do before we make it to Williamsport but, with the way we are expanding and the improvement in quality of play in Ireland this may not take too long. This progress is due to the huge effort put in by the coaches and other helpers around the country who give up their time in order to give these kids a chance to play. A special thank you is due to Coach Elaine Clancy from Kerry and Coach Jason Murphy from Cork who worked tirelessly throughout the Tournament.
The tournament has provided us with a huge impetus to move onwards and upwards. We will be expanding our league programme next year and with new teams in Galway, Mayo and Limerick. Information about winter training clinics, coach and umpire training, and how to find a team will be available on this website. If you would like to support or get involved in Youth Baseball in Ireland in any way please contact me at rocket@baseballireland.com.
Will Beglane - Head Coach
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