(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Henk Seppen & Marco Stoovelaar)
  Craig Montvidas returns as Head Coach of Bussolengo
Nederlands
 BUSSOLENGO (Italy) -
Craig Montvidas returns to Italy and returns as Head Coach of Specchiasol Bussolengo after almost thirty years.
Montvidas confirmed that he will lead the Italian softball-squad again next season in the Italian Softball League, which is the highest division.
The former Head Coach of the Netherlands Women Softball Team already coached with the team in 1989.
,,Yes, it is fun to be back in Bussolengo.
I'm looking forward to the new season there'', said Montvidas, who will have his first team-meeting in Bussolengo coming weekend.
Montvidas last coached a club-team in 2015-2016 when he led Pennsylvania Rebellion in the professional National Pro Fastpitch in the USA.
His stay there ended when the team was withdrawn from the NPF after the 2016 season.
...Craig Montvidas returns to Italy...
...On the photo, he is active of Head Coach of the..
...Netherlands during the 2014 World Championship...
...in Haarlem (Netherlands)...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Montvidas succeeds Enrico Obletter, who led Bussolengo since 2015 and in January of this year became the new Head Coach of the Italian National Softball Team.
Obletter earlier was a (Pitching/Head) Coach of the Italian National-squad in the nineties and during the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney (Australia), where he was born.
In that period, Italy won four European titles.
As Head Coach of club-teams, Obletter won nine Italian Championship-titles.
In August, Obletter led Bussolengo to winning the European Women's Premiere Cup in Haarlem (Netherlands).
There, the team remained unbeaten, winning ten games.
In the preliminary round, Bussolengo was 8-0, including six consecutive shutouts.
The team began the event with a narrow escape against Therwil Flyers (Switzerland), winning 8-5 in eight innings.
Later on the opening day, Bussolengo won only 3-0 against Leksand (Sweden).
The next day, after the arrival pf three pick-up players, the team dominated and recorded five more shutouts.
The preliminary round was closed with a small 2-1 win against host and defending champion Oolders Omaco Sparks Haarlem, which was then dethroned and eliminated in the Semi-Final by Terrasvogels.
Bussolengo won its Semi-Final against SK Joudrs Praha with a 4-1 score, then won the Cup by winning a lopsided Final against Terrasvogels with an 8-0 score.
This year, in the regular season of the Italian Softball League, defending champion Bussolengo finished in first place in Pool B with a 22-2 record to advance to the Play-Off Round.
In that round, American pitchers Kelsy Nunley and Jolene Henderson also pitched for Bussolengo after having joined the team in Haarlem.
Dutch infielder Britt Vonk, who also played for the team in Haarlem, returned to her own team, MKF Bollate.
In the Play-Off Round, the four best teams of Pool A and B were split into two new 4-team Pools.
Pool C was won by Bollate (5-0), who advanced to the Italian Softball Series.
In Pool D, Bussolengo ended up in a tie with Poderi dal Nespoli Forlì, which in the regular season finished in fourth place in Pool B after having closed with the same record (14-10) as Tecnolaser Europa Pianoro and Metalco Thunders Castellana.
Bussolengo opened the Play-Off Round with two wins against Labadini Collecchio (3-0, 1-0), then also won twice against RheaVendors Caronno (3-0, 3-0).
In the final series, Bussolengo won its first game against Forlì 4-1, but then lost the next game 4-0.
With that, both Bussolengo and Forlì were 5-1.
However, the regulations of this Round were in favor of Bollate, which therefore reached the Final.
Bussolengo had been the Italian Champion in 2015 and 2016.
...Craig Montvidas hands out signatures during the...
...2009 World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City (USA)...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
In the Championship Series, Forlì won the best-of-five against Bollate 3-1 to become champion of Italy.
Britt Vonk was the Best Hitter of the Italian Softball Series, hitting .500 (3-for-6) with seven walks.
Craig Montvidas, who has a successfol career in softball-coaching, first played baseball in the Dutch big league in 1975-1984 for Giants Diemen (1975, 1977-1979), Kinheim (1976) and HCAW (1980-1984).
The American-born and raised Montvidas started coaching in 1980 when he became the playing Head Coach of the baseball-team of HCAW, who he also led in 1983-1985.
He made his debut as softball-coach in 1981, when he also was the Head Coach of the women-team of HCAW.
Montvidas led the softball-squad of the Bussum-club in 1981-1988.
Hereafter, he coached one season for Bussolengo in Italy, then returned to the Netherlands, where he led the softball-team of Twins (1990-1994).
He leads HCAW to the Championship-title in 1985, 1987 and 1988, then wins again with Twins in 1994.
With both teams, Montvidas also wins an European Cup.
In 1997-1999, Montvidas first led the Netherlands National Softball Team as its Head Coach.
He then was the Head Coach of the Greek National Softball Team (2000-2001) and the British National Team (2003-2007).
In Greece, he helps creating a softball-program to prepare for the 2004 Olympic Games in Greek capital Athens.
He then became involved again with the Netherlands National Team in November 2008 when he was named as its new Head Coach.
A year later, Montvidas became the coordinator of the entire Netherlands National Team Program, which also included the National Youth-teams.
With all these teams, Montvidas participated in several big international events, including several European Championships and World Championships.
...Craig Montvidas is showered by his players...
...after winning the 3rd consecutive unbeaten...
...European title with the Netherlands..
...in 2013 in Prague (Czech Republic)...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
In his second stint as Head Coach of the Netherlands, Montvidas was very successful, as he led the Orange-squad to three consecutive unbeaten European titles (2009, 2011, 2013).
The first title in 2009 is the first for the Dutch in 19 years.
In the same period, the Netherlands climbed on the ladder during three World Championships
In 2010, he leads the team to its first Play-Offs in 16 years and finishes in eighth place.
Hereafter, the Netherlands ends up in sixth place in 2012 and 2014.
Montvidas resigned as the team's Head Coach after conclusion of the 2014 World Championship in Haarlem (Netherlands), as he became the Head Coach of the professional Pennsylvania Rebellion a year later.
Besides his coaching-activities in the eighties, Montvidas also organized the successful baseball- and softball-camps of Pro-Motion, was the co-founder of an indoor softball-competition in 1990 in Amsterdam (which ran for a few years) and conducted several instructional meetings during clinics in both the Netherlands and abroad.
He still conducts clinics frequently.
Last month (October 18-22 and October 25-29), Montvidas was the Camp Director of two ESCA Camps in Diessen (Netherlands).
In total, nearly 100 softball enthusiasts, players and coaches, participated in the two camps.
During the first week, the participants came from eight different European countries, who all stayed at one facility, trained together and attended workshops.
The camps were organized by the European Softball Coaches Association (ESCA), which was established by the European Softball Federation in 2016.
,,We wish to organize these international camps every year, so everyone who wants to improve themselves gets the chance'', said ESF-President Gabriel Waage.
Besides Montvidas, the instructors in the first Camp were Tracy Bunge (USA), Karen Marr (Australia), Enrico Obletter (Italy), Vojtech Albrecht (Czech Republic), Berend Mannessen, Marjolein Merkx and Anouk van den Heuvel (all Netherlands).
During the second Camp, instructors included Montvidas, Obletter, Marr, Mannessen, Merkx, Van den Heuvel, Rachael Watkeys (Great Britain) and Celine Lassaigne (France).
Dutch National Team-player Britt Vonk was a special guest in the second camp.
This year, she won the European Championship-title with the Netherlands, the Championship-title with Scrap Yard Dawgs in the professional National Pro Fastpitch in the USA and the European Premiere Cup with Bussolengo, while reaching the Italian Softbal Series with Bollate.
(November 7)
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