Herts Baseball Club returned early for training this year.  The official baseball spring training sessions begin on 10 February but the team managers decided that it was important to get players ready and fit for the 2008 season by organizing several conditioning sessions ahead of the baseball-specific preparations. 

From these sessions it has become clear that there are some pretty decent basketball and dodgeball players among the club’s baseball players.  This applies not only to the adult players but to the Little Leaguers who were very keen to get involved alongside the big boys and girls. 

Playing other work-intensive sports such as basketball is proving to be a lot of fun.  Players are also benefiting from some more specific drills set by the club’s fitness guru, Dan Kerry.  The first one or two weeks after the long winter break are always demanding on the body, but players will definitely feel the difference when they start to notice that everything seems physically easier this year then in previous years and that the number of injuries has reduced significantly.

One thing is for sure, having seen the kind of effort that the players are putting in, the players mean business and the rest of the league better be prepared for the Herts teams.

Herts Baseball will face the upcoming 2008 season with a brand new managerial team. This was one among the number of pivotal decisions reached at the Annual General Meeting of Herts Baseball Club that took place on Sunday, 11 November 2007.

The new managers elected by the Club are: Jason Greenberg (Herts Falcons), Carlos Casal (Herts Hawks) and Jake Kikel (Herts Raptors).

Jason and Carlos were elected to replace the outgoing managers Bruce Dullea and Paul Auchterlounie, while Jake was selected to handle the Herts’ new expansion team, the Raptors. Everybody at the Club was fully appreciative of the hard work and experience that Bruce and Paul

had brought to the Club as managers in 2007. The feeling was well summarized by Club Secretary Aspi Dimitrov: “The Club owes Bruce and Paul a debt of gratitude for leading the two teams in 2007 – one of the most successful seasons in the Club’s history. As a board member, I was in a privileged position to have witnessed first hand how they dealt with various issues during the season, including some really classy moves and decisions, details of which unfortunately will have to be kept confidential at Board level. I am sure that the new managers will be able to consult with Bruce and Paul on a regular basis and use the knowledge that they have gained in their time as managers”.

The choice of new management reflected the new sense of purpose and determination that the Club members had shown throughout last season, and was predicated on the targets for new development and achievement that the Club is looking for in the new season. According to sources close to the Club management, the “task of the new management team” would be to “make playing for the Club an enjoyable, but at the same time, competitive experience”.

The membership’s enthusiasm for the new season was also reflected in the fact that all three managers will be provided with able and keen assistance from a number of volunteer deputies, so that the workload will be spread throughout the ranks in the Club.

Pundits have been reluctant to go out on a limb about the new appointments, but as one expert pointed out: “It will come, and when it comes, it’s going to be good”.

this article was posted on behalf of the author, Kal Dimitrov