Irina Khotochkina, general secretary of the Russian Softball Federation, told that the decision to reappoint Cuban baseball player David Castillo as the head coach of the Russian women’s team was taken so as not to violate the unspoken rule whereby the team is led by the coach who won the country’s championship.
Earlier, learned that a meeting of the Presidium of the Russian Softball Federation was held in Moscow, during which, among others, the credentials of the head coach of the women’s national team, David Castillo, had been extended. In 2019, he received Russian citizenship. Castillo played for the RusStar baseball club, in which he became the national champion, and also played for the Russian national team. Since 2021, he has been the head coach of the national softball team.
Castillo has been leading the women’s team since last year. He was appointed head coach of the women’s team, as he won the Russian championship with the RusStar team for the second year in a row. We have an unspoken rule. It is clear that the appointment of coaches is the prerogative of the president and the presidium. But there is a good old tradition that we still see no reason to break: I won the Russian championship – this coach leads the team.
— Is there a language barrier in the team?
– They communicate with him in English. Partly the girls know some Spanish words, but they still mostly speak English. He has been here for a long time and, apparently, there is mutual sympathy, there is no rejection. Everyone tries to understand each other, there are no problems. And there is always someone nearby who can suggest something. The team even has a Spanish-English-Russian girl. There are no difficulties. Plus, there are a lot of international terms in softball that don’t even need to be translated.
– How is the communication with the technical staff built?
– We have a national team head coach who oversees all ages and the main national team. This is Maria Nikolaevna Kazantseva, most of the team are her students. In terms of functionality, the head coach is mainly engaged in official paperwork, is the organizational center. The eldest determines the composition, the tactics. Therefore, at the moment we are happy with the design, when the head coach is a Russian specialist, and the foreigner is engaged in the women’s team. At the same time, Kazantseva is also involved in the training camp, she knows these girls well. And in tandem, they do very well.
– What results of Castillo’s work can we already summarize?
– It is very difficult to assess, because for us, as for everyone, the main indicator is performance in serious international competitions. Unfortunately, there were no such competitions this summer. At the same time, the second consecutive victory in the Russian championship shows that RusStar retains its fighting ability. We still believe that together we can keep the national team in good shape. We hope that international competitions will take place for us in one format or another. Even if these are not official tournaments, but a few matches with international partners. At the same time, there were no questions for David, the person works with full dedication, the team is ready for battle. He manages to keep the girls’ mood up.
– So what are the team’s goals now?
We are suspended until the end of 2022. So far, the International Federation has not announced that the suspension will extend until next year. Therefore, we have no right not to think at least about the next European Championship. The selection for the world championship goes through the European. Therefore, we are preparing and the possibility of participation will become clear at the earliest in the spring. In addition, we are actively working with Latin America. We are working on options for Chinese teams to come here if it is impossible to get there. Softball is well developed in these countries, they are serious rivals. As a result, bilateral international competitions are possible. Unfortunately, the CIS countries are not very developed in our sport.
Softball is back at the 2020 Olympics, the 2024 Olympics will be without softball, but it will return to the Games in 2028 in Los Angeles. Russian athletes have never participated in the Olympic tournament so far.
Source : MatchTV
