The U18 European Baseball Championship will be held in Regensburg, Germany, from July 8 to 14 this year. A total of 12 teams will compete in the Armin-Wolf-Arena, among them the Croatian national team, which this year will be strengthened by players from the Croatian diaspora. On this occasion, we spoke with long-time baseball player from Karlovac, Croatian national team member and coach Damir Karin
How popular baseball is in Croatia, what are the expectations of our national team at the upcoming championship and why this competition is a unique opportunity for young athletes from the Croatian diaspora, read below.
To begin with, tell us how popular baseball is among young people in Croatia and why they choose that sport?
Although baseball began to be played in Croatia almost 100 years ago, and most of our clubs (Karlovac, Split, Varaždin, Zagreb) have been operating for more than 40 years, baseball is not as popular as the main sports in the Republic of Croatia. The good news is that young people are starting to play baseball more and more at an earlier age, so in the Republic of Croatia we have an organized Little League Croatia competition for children from 8 to 14 years old.
Based in the USA, Little League is the largest and most popular youth competition and we are very honored to be a part of it.
In order to introduce children to baseball, the clubs organize presentations in schools where children are introduced to the Game for the first time. In the area of northern Croatia, we currently have approximately 200 children of that age, and based on my experience, I would say that baseball props, bats and gloves somehow attract children the most. This is something that is not available in other sports (there is only one ball), while in baseball every child gets his own glove, bat, and helmet. Catcher gear is especially fun for them.
What are the results of the Croatian national team so far? How long have we been competing in the European championships and what is the best success so far?
Croatia has been competing in the European Championships since independence. The first team to play under the Croatian flag was Olimpija from Karlovac, which toured America in 1991 as the first selection from Croatia to play on American soil under the Croatian flag and anthem.
The Croatian Senior National Team was the first to play at the European Championships, in 1992 in Germany, and already in the next couple of years, Croatia also appeared in the junior competition. Last year, the U18 team won the qualifying tournament in Ireland and thus placed among the 12 best teams on the old continent.
The best ranking of the senior national team is the quarter-finals of the European Championship and 7th place from 2021, while, if I'm not mistaken, the junior national team once finished among the top 10 national teams.
What are the expectations from our U18 national team at the upcoming championship?
Uh, tough question. Here, the competition system where the qualifications are one year and the championship is another year did not work for us. Most of the generation that won the qualifying tournament is now 19 years old, so they cannot participate in this championship. So this year the national team has been rejuvenated.
However, what can be seen from the performance so far is that there are 12-13 serious players who can beat any national team in the championship but also lose to anyone because the competition is really strong and our bench is quite thin. Spain, Italy and Germany are the superpowers of European baseball and the teams with the biggest budgets. Israel is realistically a 100% American team, so it is difficult to assess their strength.
As true Croats and athletes, we are going to win the championship, but reality tells us that with two victories in this championship, in the group against Austria and later another one for the placement, they would consider this championship a success.
How do you comment on the group in which Croatia is located, which also includes Spain, Italy, Germany, Israel, and Austria. Who will be our biggest competition?
The group is extremely strong. I would say that Germany as the host is the favorite in this group. But the Italians are a traditional force, and the Spaniards have an excellent generation. Israel depends on players from America, which can vary considerably in quality, and Austria is the country that, next to the Czech Republic, has progressed the most in the last 15 years.
Somehow, by feeling, we should fight with Austria and Israel for the 4th place in the group and the chance to finish among the 8 best national teams.
What is the competition system like?
In the group, everyone plays with everyone, five days in a row, which is a big handicap for us considering the smaller pool of quality players. After that, the most important matches actually follow. The first and second from group A cross with the first and second from group B and play the semi-finals, and the day after that the winners play the final. The teams that finish in the group stage from 3rd place onwards in the group play for placement from 5th to 12th place.
For us, it is crucial to be 10th or better, as this ensures us a safe performance at the next European Championship, while the 11th and 12th national teams must secure a place in the elite competition again next year through qualifying tournaments. In that case, we would ensure future generations to play at the European Championship.
An invitation to players from emigration has been published. What are the application requirements and how can I apply?
For many years, we have been "cooperating" with our expatriates for the senior national team, and we are one of the few sports that brings our diaspora from America and Australia to Croatia. This year we decided to do the same for the U15 and U18 teams and the response was really great.
The Croatian Fraternal Union in America and magazine editor Hilda Obadic, who published our invitation in the magazine, helped us a lot here. We have one form where all interested parties can apply, leave basic information, a short video of the player. We then directly contact the players and direct them to where they would be the best fit. Players can apply via the web form at LINK, the password is croballplayer.
If necessary, we also help with citizenship papers, because the biggest problem is mostly the papers. In order to participate in the European Championship, a child must have citizenship (Domovnica) and a Croatian passport, which is not a very common case with young people from America, who mostly do not even have an American passport.
What will the preparations look like, where and when will they take place?
There will be no classical preparations this year. Namely, we assembled the national team in the late autumn of last year as soon as we saw the situation with the age groups. We held a winter gathering, and in the 3rd month of this year we gathered candidates for the junior team. We chose the 18 best from all clubs in Croatia and registered them for one club from Zagreb. That club registered and now plays in the 1st Croatian Baseball League for seniors, where these young men get the necessary minutes (innings). Thus, that team will play together for 4 months and play 24 games before the championship itself.
Part of the "Americans" will join us at the beginning of the 6th month, and one pitcher should arrive a few days before the championship. We have set up the "Croatian National Team Playbook" which contains signs and all offensive and defensive actions of our national team, which those who know baseball more deeply know is an extensive and important material. An important part of baseball is the mental part. We have the same signs for the U15, U18, U23 and senior national teams, so once a player goes through the system, we don't waste time every year explaining the concept. We send the same Playbook to our "Americans" and save a week of preparation and training.
The team will gather in one place a week before the European Championship, do mini-preparations, which considering that 80% of them play in the team together this whole year should be good enough to perform as a compact team at the European Championship.
Regardless of the result, this is still one of the main values that we want to achieve, a correct sporting approach to the game and proper baseball behavior on and off the field.
What would you say to players from abroad who are thinking about participating in the competition??
All people of good will are welcome who want to help their homeland, get to know their homeland through sports, travel with their peers and return to "Ljepa Naša" at least for a while through sports. As a player, I played for the senior national team over 100 times, and at the last two European Championships I was the coach of the senior national team, and I have to admit that, before every game, while the national anthem is playing and our flag is flying, I still get "goosebumps" and get hit by one special emotion.
It is a true story, a pure sports story without politics and some other bad things that are often served. That is the most that an athlete can do, play for his country, his people, his flag. It is a feeling above all, and in my opinion, every athlete should afford that feeling at least once in his life.
This is a unique opportunity for our emigrants to experience it as children and young men, because we know what the competition is like in America and the path to the USA national team is almost impossible. Croatia and Europe is ideal for a young athlete, especially for those who have graduated from college and will not be involved in professional sports, so that before they immerse themselves in real life at least one summer or one year, they should do something that will surely enrich them in the life that lies ahead. to them.
And there were cases in Europe where scouts discovered American players in Europe, so they actually secured a professional career in the USA by coming here.
Photo: Private collection
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