WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup: All six teams to battle for a spot in next year's Finals; LA28 Olympics the common long-term goal

23.07.2024 01:20

The head coaches of Brazil, Colombia, Czechia, Great Britain, New Zealand and Chinese Taipei spoke about the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup and the future, with the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games on the long-term horizon.

With one day to go to the start of the <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-ii-u-18-womens-softball-world-cup-group-a/home">WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Group A</a>, the head coaches of Brazil, Colombia, Czechia, Great Britain, New Zealand and Chinese Taipei agreed about their goal for the tournament starting on Tuesday in Sao Paulo: Earning a ticket to the Finals 2025. However, they all also confirmed that the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028 is the long-term goal for this group of players and the entire Women's National Team programmes.

Chinese Taipei head coach, Chun-Sheng Kao, was the first to say that his team's goal is to finish in the top two positions of the group. "As an Asian team, our main strength is our defence," he said.

Chinese Taipei won a silver medal in 2021, does it affect this year's team? "To be honest, we don't feel any pressure for this event, we're just trying our best to go through the whole tournament and be the best team we can. This team is younger than the silver medal team. We have many 15, 17 year old players in this team."

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New Zealand head coach Kiri Shaw made it clear since the beginning. "Our goal is to make the top two and advance to next year's Finals. That's our only goal for this tournament." Being in the off season in New Zealand, the Junior White Sox travelled to Texas, USA, for much needed competition.

"This team is incredibly tight; they are very friendly, very relaxed and they play really good softball," she said. "I'm excited about the athletes, their athleticism and their skill set. We'll just want to take one game at a time."

Brazil is hosting a Softball World Cup for the first time ever. Playing as host team is a privilege for head coach Fernando Oda, but he feels they don't have full home field advantage. "I've always enjoyed to play at home, but this is a baseball stadium adapted into a softball stadium, so also for us is a new ballpark and field of play. However, we're still playing at home. And I'm sure that the support of our people will help the girls to give their best and earn a ticket to the Finals."

Asked about the team, Oda said the team is calm and they are a unit. "We've been working with them since last April, when we played the Pan American Championship. It's basically the same team. The team has a mix of power and speed. However, the group is our biggest force," he said.

Tara Tembey, head coach of the Great Britain National Team, set her sights on the top two spots at the end of this event. "Our goal is also earn a ticket to the Finals, of course. We're here to play, we're here to compete. We are ready to face very tough competition, all our rivals are great teams," she said.

"We have almost the same group of players from the 2023 European Championship, we added four new faces, so we've played together for a while."

Tembey also reflected about her team. "Our main strength is our dynamic offence. They are very talented, but they are also a great group of girls, they bond together, they have fun and are joyful group. They are enjoying the experience."

Czechia arrive in Sao Paulo as the reigning European champions, and the team with the second best ranking in the group. "The main goal is to qualify for the Finals tournament in Dallas 2025," said Czechia's head coach Tomas Kusy. "I would say that our main strength is teamwork. Also the awareness of why we are here. Finally the balance in our offence, defence and pitching."

Kusy explained that his team has been preparing for the tournament for more than a year. "Our main pillars were the tournament in the USA last fall. We completed spring tournaments in Italy, we played regular matches with women's extra-league teams in the Czech Republic. In the end, we played in Prague at the Prague Softball Week tournament and a series of matches in Italy."

This event will be Colombia's third participation in the event. And they are here to compete. "I think that all the participating teams come with the same idea of claiming one spot in next year's Finals, and we're not the exception," said Sofanor Villa, Colombia's head coach. "We've been watching all the teams and I believe this is a very competitive group, maybe the most competitive of the three. Some teams have a very similar playing style, so we're trying to compete game by game, inning by inning, and pitch by pitch."

"Colombia is a good hitting team, we made it clear in the Americas Qualifier last April," Villa explained. "We made some adjustments during these past months, we've focused on the offensive side, without letting behind the defensive side."

Softball will feature at the Olympic Games for the sixth time in Los Angeles 2028. The <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-ii-u-18-womens-softball-world-cup-group-a/news/wbsc-u-18-womens-softball-world-cup-a-bright-future-for-olympic-softball">WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup has launched the international career of many of the biggest stars in the sport</a>, including Olympians, world champions and hall of fame members. For this group of players, LA28 could be their opportunity to compete on the biggest stage.

"The Olympics are literally our dream and our goal," said Shaw, an Olympian herself who represented New Zealand in Sydney 2000. "For us, in the Junior White Sox programme, is about reinforcing to these young athletes that they have every skill set to push for a place in the Women's National Team. We're going to need a lot of work in our domestic scene, and a lot of international competition for that. We had a great experience in Texas, and I think it's the way to go to growing up and exposing the players to the highest level of international softball."

Brazil have never participated in the Olympic Games softball competition. It doesn't mean that this is not in sight for the South American nation. "The Olympic Games are a dream for everyone," Oda said. "We're doing a great job as a programme, from the youngest players to the Senior National Team. So hopefully one day we can qualify for the Olympics. That would be a dream come true."

Colombia have the same mindset than their South American neighbours. "The Olympic Games are the main goal for us. This is the group of players that we believe will be in their prime for the LA28 qualification process, and qualify for the Olympics would be amazing," Villa said. "Colombian softball has received a boost recently in Colombia, and we're reaching goals like returning to a World Cup. Our overall plan, as a National Federation and as a National Team, is aimed at to qualify for the Olympics."

"Great Britain's entire National Team program is working towards the Olympic Games 2028 and beyond. This is our main goal," said Tembey. "And these girls know that they are the future, we're developing the talent for the future, and they are enjoying the process."

What does it mean for these athletes the opportunity to become Olympians at LA2028? "I think this question is mainly for the girls," Kusy said. "But if you ask me, as a head coach, of course I dream of coaching Czechia at the Olympics!"

WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup: All six teams to battle for a spot in next year's Finals; LA28 Olympics the common long-term goal

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