The idea of an European league started a few years ago but as there is a saying, a project needs its time and its place in history. And the right time and place was in Ljubljana. It all started when the Slovenian teams challenged one of the top teams in Europe, the Los Coyotes from Austria, in the international tournaments in Ljubljana 2012 and 2013. It showed that the Slovenian teams had increased their level of play in the recent years what they also proofed by winning the European Cup in Coed Slow Pitch in 2012. Not only the level of play helped to start the league but also the inspiring work of Darja Grimšič who lives in Ljubljana and puts a lot of effort into the development of the sport in Slovenia. After a lot of talks between potential teams the project of an European league was started in September 2013 by Darja Grimšič and Marc Stein from Austria.
But there was one piece missing before it all could get started: a team not only representing the game of Slow Pitch on a top level but moreover being an example for sportsmanship and camaraderie between the players, rather to say, a leading example for the other teams. This piece was found with the team Guzzlers Europe, representing US American players in Europe and it was only enabled by the commitment of Drew Chesser (CoCo), a man who is willing to take actions to develop something special. From that point on, three persons, Darja, Drew and Marc were the driving force behind the European Softball Slow Pitch League (ESSL).
The concept and the idea behind the ESSL is not only the competition on a high level, but also the development of the sport in Europe by supporting each other.
My name is Darja Grimšič. I am from Ljubljana, Slovenia. I dedicate all my free time to softball and baseball. I coach a softball team, who plays both slowpitch and fastpitch and I also coach a u16 baseball team. I have been working on slowpitch for around 9 years (before we didn˙t know slowpitch as serious sport) and from the first moment on I thought it is a very important sport for the development of fastpitch and baseball in Slovenia and in Europe. That˙s why I was the main voice and coorganizer for 2 European championships, which were held in Slovenia (2006-coed slowpitch championship in Ljubljana and 2010-coed slowpitch cup in Ljubljana). I have been organizing monthly slowpitch indoor and outdoor tournaments since 2005 – I will soon organize my 100th tournament and I do my best to promote a greater recognition of this sport. ESSL is an idea that Marc Stein and me planned and coordinated for the whole last year. Later on Drew Chesser joined us and helped the league to a higher level. A level of slowpitch not achieved in Europe before. We want to spread the ESSL across Europe and with it raise the quality and recognition of softball and baseball.
My name is Drew Chesser (aka CoCo). I was born and raised in Florida. Joined the Army and served all over the world and retired after 22 years. I enjoy the game of softball and have been playing it for over 25 years. I currently live in Germany and love the international interaction and the game. My interest in the European Slowpitch Softball League is to interact, promote and develop a high level softball game and competition between countries that hopefully will spread European wide and develop a league that is second to none. The brain child behind the league is Marc Stein and I teamed up with him and Darja Grimsic (Slovenia) and so far amazing things have been accomplished and looking forward to more. It makes me very proud to see other countries enjoyment to play the game of softball and try their best to become better at it. See you on the field.
My name is Marc Stein from Linz, Austria. I started playing baseball in 1984 in Austria and played in the USA as well. My main position was catcher, and in parallel I played quarterback for an American football team for many years. A few years ago I got in contact with Slow Pitch Softball and after the invitation as a guest coach of the US national team at the Border Battle 2012 in Oklahoma I was fascinated of the level the game can be played. After an internet research I realized that Slow Pitch Softball is a world wide sport with a huge community. People play the game in big stadiums like in Oklahoma, in the rural countryside of Africa or between the mountains in Austria. They all share the same passion for the game – a game for everybody that brings people together – and a game with power and speed on a higher level. The creation of the European league is an important step to develop the game in Europe, and I am convinced that in a few years it will be spread over the whole continent. That‘s my vision.
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My name is Darja Grimšič. I am from Ljubljana, Slovenia. I dedicate all my free time to softball and baseball. I coach a softball team, who plays both slowpitch and fastpitch and I also coach a u16 baseball team. I have been working on slowpitch for around 9 years (before we didn˙t know slowpitch as serious sport) and from the first moment on I thought it is a very important sport for the development of fastpitch and baseball in Slovenia and in Europe. That˙s why I was the main voice and coorganizer for 2 European championships, which were held in Slovenia (2006-coed slowpitch championship in Ljubljana and 2010-coed slowpitch cup in Ljubljana). I have been organizing monthly slowpitch indoor and outdoor tournaments since 2005 – I will soon organize my 100th tournament and I do my best to promote a greater recognition of this sport. ESSL is an idea that Marc Stein and me planned and coordinated for the whole last year. Later on Drew Chesser joined us and helped the league to a higher level. A level of slowpitch not achieved in Europe before. We want to spread the ESSL across Europe and with it raise the quality and recognition of softball and baseball.
My name is Drew Chesser (aka CoCo). I was born and raised in Florida. Joined the Army and served all over the world and retired after 22 years. I enjoy the game of softball and have been playing it for over 25 years. I currently live in Germany and love the international interaction and the game. My interest in the European Slowpitch Softball League is to interact, promote and develop a high level softball game and competition between countries that hopefully will spread European wide and develop a league that is second to none. The brain child behind the league is Marc Stein and I teamed up with him and Darja Grimsic (Slovenia) and so far amazing things have been accomplished and looking forward to more. It makes me very proud to see other countries enjoyment to play the game of softball and try their best to become better at it. See you on the field.
My name is Marc Stein from Linz, Austria. I started playing baseball in 1984 in Austria and played in the USA as well. My main position was catcher, and in parallel I played quarterback for an American football team for many years. A few years ago I got in contact with Slow Pitch Softball and after the invitation as a guest coach of the US national team at the Border Battle 2012 in Oklahoma I was fascinated of the level the game can be played. After an internet research I realized that Slow Pitch Softball is a world wide sport with a huge community. People play the game in big stadiums like in Oklahoma, in the rural countryside of Africa or between the mountains in Austria. They all share the same passion for the game – a game for everybody that brings people together – and a game with power and speed on a higher level. The creation of the European league is an important step to develop the game in Europe, and I am convinced that in a few years it will be spread over the whole continent. That‘s my vision.