The men's national softball team will have an extra week to prepare for the regional softball qualifiers, set to take place in Mexico.
The November 18-27 tournament, which is being used as a qualifier for the World Softball Championships, will now be held November 24-December 4. It was said, by the men's national head coach Godfrey Burnside, that the new date was confirmed last week, by the Pan American Softball Confederation (CONPASA) at the Pan American Games that is currently going on in Guadalajara, Mexico. The venue and number of teams competing remains, the only change was in the date.
Even though Burnside said the date will not affect the team, which continues to train three times a week, there are still some challenges faced.
"We are having some challenges because of the weather and the NPSA (New Providence Softball Association) play-offs,"said Burnside."We will probably be in a better state after the round-robin tournament. That will give us about two or three weeks before we leave to prepare.
"We have a lot of players who are still in a competitive mode. As a matter of fact, several of the players on the national team are vying for the championship's title. There are about five or six different players, playing in the NPSA championships. Most of the guys will be in from the Family Islands, by the start of the round-robin. We expect to have a full team practice a day or two before the round-robin ends. We will have an opportunity to play in the round-robin, but not everyone will participate in it. The national team will play an all-star team during this time.
"We will play about two or three games. So for the most part everything is going well."
The national team was named about two months ago. The well-rounded team includes five pitchers, and an aggressive field of players that can adjust based on the game situation faced. Veteran Edney 'The Heat' Bethel will lead the way from the pitcher's mound. Alcott Forbes, Eugene Pratt, Fred Cornish and Thomas Davis will all have an opportunity to 'bring the heat'. Jamal Johnson and Angelo Dillette will rotate as catchers.
Playing in the infield are Greg Gardiner, Desmond Bannister, Marvin Wood, Ken Wood and Larry Russell Jr. The roster will also include Martin Burrows Jr., Lance Watkins, Sherman Ferguson, Van Johnson and Godfrey Burnside Jr.
The Bahamas will open up the tournament against Guatemala, on November 26. Other countries participating are Canada, Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and Columbia.
The Bahamas Softball Federation (BSF) ^will host their annual National Round-Robin November 3-6, at the Baillou Hills Sporting Field. This year's championships will be held in honor of Sonny Have and Ernestine Butler-Stubbs. Some six male teams will compete for the overall crown and seven on the women's side.
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