Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE baseball team coach Washington Nyika has said the four-day national team training camp conducted by United States coach Bart Bratcher was a huge eye opener.
Bratcher, who has over 40 years’ baseball coaching experience, took the provisional 32-man squad through a gruelling four days of training at Hamilton High School in Bulawayo.
The national team is preparing for an Easter tournament to be held in Durban, South Africa where it will battle with provincial sides from the neighbouring country in the annual baseball event.
“The camp was a success. Our goal was to assess the players and incorporate new boys into the squad. We are keen to do well in South Africa and we are working hard to ensure that.
“The South African provincial sides are very strong because of the high performance academies they have and that places them at a higher level than us,” said Nyika.
“We lost dismally in the first tour we had to South Africa in 2015.
“However, in 2016 we put in a lot of work and managed to bring home a bronze medal. This year we are expecting to do even better.
“The tournament will be an opportunity for us to measure ourselves and see where we are in terms of progress.
“In South Africa they play Elite baseball, which is what we as Zimbabwe are moving towards.
“Working with guys like Bratcher, who have the experience and technical expertise, surely the game can only improve,” Nyika said.
The Zimbabwe technical team also boasts of Americo Juma, a former national team player and African scout for the United States Major League Baseball.
The squad will regroup for another camp scheduled for the end of January 2018 at the same venue. — @innocentskizoe
Online Reporter