Dear friends, umpires, athletes, scorers, managers, parents, coaches and lovers of baseball and softball,
In looking for a concept, a single term that could somehow summarize the thought that I wish to address to you at this moment, the most suitable that came to my mind is 'future'.
In fact, the year ahead of us is full of great events and, consequently, of great possibilities, which, certainly, do not present themselves by chance, but are rooted in the quality of work that the Italian baseball and softball movement has been able to field up to this point.
Our National Teams will wearing their blue jerseys proudly at an elite level and face the most important international challenges in 2023.
Team Italy baseball is already awaiting the World Baseball Classic, which brings with it great global visibility in March, but also and above all, the opportunity to create crucial links for tomorrow. It is precisely from this point of view that Mike Piazza and his coaching staff have for the past year afforded players and coaches the opportunity to get in touch with and fall in love with their Italian origins and culture by wearing their blue jersey so proudly and wanting to play beyond expectations. It is our desire to pursue a long-term commitment to the development of our coaches and our players beginning in our youth sectors in regional academies through college and then professionally to grow and further our movement.
But that's not all, because at the end of September the national team will be in the Czech Republic for the European Baseball Championship with the mission to improve from the 2021 bronze medal finish in Torino.
By then, the Azzurri U12, U15 and U23 squads will have developed their programs and played in their respective European Baseball Championships with a keen eye focused on the developing players so that they reach the higher category.
Team Italy softball will spend the next two seasons as host and organizer of the first World Cup in the new two-phase format: a recognition by the WBSC that rewards what has been achieved by the Federation and by the Clubs, guests of many successful international competitions. Federico Pizzolini's Azzurre will be able to compete on the home diamonds, appropriately set up, with the superpowers of the yellow ball in two consecutive summers and draw precious attention to the discipline, which everyone will be able to benefit from, and, at the same time, grow technically, as happens when we compare ourselves with the best. Also for the Azzurrine there is no shortage of important appointments in 2023: the traditional 'Massimo Romeo' in Collecchio for the youngest, the U18 European Championship and the Japanese World Cup for the U15s.
An exciting journey therefore awaits us in the coming months, in which there is no shortage of friends who will join and support us. I mention, one for all, the Italian American Baseball Foundation and its tireless commitment to building bridges and opportunities for our girls and boys.
Building links, culture and opportunities for the future will also be the fundamental theme of our upcoming baseball and softball convention, CON-X: many skills, technical innovations, management, promotion and communication, attention to the needs of every smallest member of our community and of those surrounding it will be shared at the end of January. Thanks to the allocation of funds from the FIBS project by Sport and Health, which has recognized its quality, will be the richest ever for guests, proposed themes and ideas for the growth of all of us.
I would really like to invite everyone to participate at CON-X. I hope to meet you at the Palacongressi in Rimini from January 27-29, 2023.
In the meantime, I wish you a truly peaceful Christmas together with the people you love and a new year of great Team Italy baseball and softball.
Forza #Italia!
Andrea Marcon
