One of the highlights of the tournament was the presence of two time Olympic Gold medalist Michele Smith. Michele along with pitching Coach Laurie Davidson conducted pitching, hitting and general softball clinics for two days during the championships. The ESF development Commission has been working to promote such clinics at our Championships and Cups and it turns out that this concept will flourish in the years to come.
The attendance to the clinics was large as from many of the countries players came to learn from one of the top coaches and ambassadors of softball in the world. Michele also donated softball gear and autograph pictures were a hit as well.
Here's a quick list of the countries Michele and Laurie worked with.
- Slovenia (the whole team)
- Netherlands
- Ukrainian team members
- Germany
- Switzerland
- Sweden
- Poland
- Ireland
- Austria
- Israel
- Denmark
- Croatia
- Italy
- Russia
To top all the above Michele also headed the commentating of the semi and grand final games during the live streaming broadcasting.
This all was made possible with the assistance of the Clearwater Sports commission in Clearwater, Florida. Kevin Smith and his team have become close partners with the ESF and will continue this special relationship into the future, with the Junior Women World Championships in 2017, the Clearwater Academy and other special projects that the ESF and Clearwater are planning.
Have a great year and hope to see you all next season on the playing field.
-Ami Baran-