At the end of October, the Netherlands hosted the fifth ESCA Training Camp. Over 60 players and coaches from sixteen countries gathered for five days in Diessen to learn about all aspects of softball.
The training camp included classroom workshop sessions, individual and small group training moments, game situations, and game competitions, plus a number of skills events designed for both learning and enjoyment.
In fact, top instructors from all over the world offered 10+ workshops to the athletes and coaches. Many games were played for a total of over 30 hours of softball.
ESCA Coordinator Craig Montvidas commented: "the dust has settled, but I can proudly say that "our 5th ESCA training camp was a major success. The number one goal of the ESCA camp can be found in its motto: GETTING BETTER TOGETHER. Everyone who attended - players, coaches, and instructors - came away a lot smarter Softball person."
In 2022, the young coach from Croatia Jurica Vidović won the Coach of the Camp award.
Thanks to an agreement with WBSC Coach Commission, the coaches taking part in the ESCA Training Camp could test to become licensed coaches (level 1) according to the WBSC international standards.
As for the future, more ESCA Training Camps will follow, as confirmed by Coach Montvidas: "plans are already being discussed for next year's camp. If you have yet to attend one of our ESCA projects in the past, keep an eye out for future updates, or better yet, contact someone (player or coach) who attended this year's training camp and let them give you their personal view on just how much the camp had to share".
The photos of the 2022 ESCA Training Camp can be found on Softball Europe's Facebook page.
Cover photo by Lorena Puškarić
