Feeling a bit frantic as summer travel ball works into a frenzy and everyone scrambles for flights, hotel rooms, or how to fit the cooler, the sun shelter and the gear bag into the car? If so, you’re not alone. It’s busy in the US for sure, but also around the globe. You might expect that everything is centered on preparation for the Olympics and with the hiatus of Softball in the Olympics after next year, softball programs worldwide are declining or going into some form of suspended animation. Nothing could be further from the truth. I don’t have my finger on the pulse of every country’s program, but I’m beginning to know European softball a bit more thoroughly, and this year, as you’ll see below, softball has reached a fever pitch in the “Old Countries.”

Beyond the sheer love of the sport of softball and a little fear of traditional powerhouses like Japan and Australia, for the health and future of our sport, it is becoming increasingly important that we, as American softballer’s, take a gander beyond our own borders. We need to study what is happening with softball around the world, and where possible, help fledgling programs develop. Some would say (and have recently in an online forum I frequent) that softball will be just fine, right here in the good ol’ USA, thank you very much, without the Olympics. This bit of isolationist wisdom says that we darned well had National Teams before the Olympics and we’ll darned well have them after – even if we never see the red dirt of another Olympic diamond. The opinions continue, saying it will actually be good for the National Pro Fast Pitch (NPF) league, as there will no longer be a drain on the talent, and of course, there will always be College Softball and the WCWS. Well, I’m no oracle or muse but I think we need to steer clear of that opinion. Global competition is a good thing and makes us stronger, and Isolationism rarely works in national politics. I don’t think we can afford that kind of policy in softball, on the world stage, if the sport is to continue to flourish. The ISF has set some lofty goals for its extremely important Olympic re-instatement campaign, “BackSoftball” (go to www.backsoftball.com for more information on the campaign and how to help). One of the loftiest goals in its 10 point plan is to increase worldwide participation in the sport by an amazing 25% by 2009, from the current and quite respectable 8.4 million players to 12.5 million.

Certainly, the lion’s share of that 8.4 million for any single country is in the US, and it helps explain why we’re frequently number one or two in every major event. We have a big population, with a big pool of players. In this, we’re truly fortunate. The competition at all levels within the States drives us that much further. But, with that privilege, a certain responsibility resides, I think, to help other countries develop their softball programs. Just as sheer numbers of people playing in the States drives up the competition level here, so will competition levels rise throughout the world with increased numbers of people playing. If we want better, harder, competition throughout the world (and it’s certain the Olympic Committee would like to see a more equitable level of softball at the highest levels), then we need to help the competition develop. Better competition worldwide, will only make us better, too. The reinstatement of softball in the Olympics is the cornerstone of that continued world-wide development, and BackSoftball is the cement that will hold that cornerstone in place. Get involved.

So as I said, there are a lot of other folks playing throughout the world. Take a look at the list below of some of the major softball events from around the world this year. I’ve included websites and results where possible.

Worldwide National
Team Competitions in 2007:
World University Games, Thailand (August 8-18). http://www.bangkok2007.com/en/main/index2.php
European Club Team Competitions (Most comparable to the structure of the WCWS or Little League Nationals, where only the top team from each state, region, or conference gets to go):
European Cup 1 (A Pool), Haarlem, Netherlands (August 20-25), top team from each nation from previous season. http://www.sparkshaarlem.nl/ec1/index.html
European Cup 1 (B Pool), San Marino, (August 20-25), top team from each nation from previous season
European Cup Winner’s Cup (A Pool), Prague, Czech Republic (August 20-25), second place team (previous season) from each nation
European Cup Winner’s Cup (B Pool), Athens, Greece (September 3-8), second place team (previous season) from each nation

Oh, and if that’s not enough to get you thinking globally about softball, then as you give up on trying to close the trunk lid on that Mustang and look through the garage for that rope leftover from last Nationals, I’d like you to consider a couple of final thoughts: 1) Somewhere in the world right now, another softball family just like yours is getting excited about their championship games. 2) In all my travels, I have discovered there are almost always different words in each language for first, second, third and home; there are different ways to say “mine,” and different words for bat, ball, and glove, but everywhere I’ve played, “Strike,” “Ball,” “Out,” and “Safe” are all the same, and, as it turns out, we all put our uniforms on one leg at a time.
Until next time, keep playing hard, ‘cuz there ain’t nothin’ soft about it – anywhere in the world.
As always, please feel free to e-mail me with comments or column suggestions at gutallstop@hotmail.com.