Q: How would you describe your team and playing philosophy?
A: Dream Team is part of the Baseball Softball Club Ljubljana where most of our players started their baseball or softball journey. They learned their first throws and swings in our club and finally became great players. Last year we started with two younger teams 12u and 15u. This year we are also playing baseball in Italy. The slowpitch team “Dream Team” is getting stronger every year. We gain knowledge and skills from the best players in Europe and the team has still a lot of potential. I am convinced that our time will come. Our stength is an excellent defense and the speed of our players. Our hitting is strongly improving and the players who were beginners last year will be able to play with less stress this year. Our more experienced players practiced hard during the winter and are ready to challenge the other teams.

Q: What is the meaning of Dream Team? Why did you choose that name?
A: When you enjoy playing with our passion, when you get out the results and when you know that you have another family with the team then there is no question why Dream Team.

Besides sticking together on the field we also support each other off the field. It’s a true friendship between the players. They help each other with anything from school duties, job searches or even in difficult moments. We practice together all year long. To be around with the people you care about and doing things that you love it’s a kind of dream that comes true for all of us. That’s why we call it Dream Team.

Q: What do you expect from this season in the ESSL? Do you have any additional players?
A: This season we expect better games and we enjoy playing in this strong league. You can play slowpitch in many tournaments around Europe but you can’t get this level of play consistantly all season long anywhere else. The team is made up mostly of the same players as last year.

Additionally, we expect higher level of slowpitch than last year and the games are going to be much closer.

Q: Which team/s do you expect as the favorite/s for the 2016 season?
A: One of American teams, probably Guzzlers Europe.

Q: Predict the final rankings for the 2016 season: 
1. Guzzlers Europe
2. Wiesbaden Eagles
3. Dream Team
4. Los Coyotes
5. Guzzlers Black
6. Bulldogs
7. Grizzlies
8. Toros

Q: Why did you choose the name Bulldogs?
A: The team Bulldogs was founded in 2006. Initially only our little league U12 team played under this name. However, as the club grew and as we were getting more involved in slowpitch our senior team played under the name, too.  From that time on all our teams called themselves Bulldogs. The official name of the club is KRPAN Little League Novo mesto club. Since 2007 we use the name Bulldogs.

We have no restrictions on gender or age of players. The first team consists of male and female players of all ages and the youngest player is only 12 years old. Our players are from different baseball clubs around Slovenia. But on the field they play with the spirit of the Bulldogs.

Q: What do you expect from this season in the ESSL? Do you have any additional players?
A: Our plan is to be competitive. For the ESSL our goal is to rank among the top five teams. However, most important for us is to meet and socialize with the other players. It’s always a great experience for us to meet other cultures, especially, when we all share the same passion – slowpitch.
This season we focus on the development of our game and we will start with some new players. One of our new players has some experience in major competitions and his advantage is speed. We’ll probably get stronger during the season with another new player.

Q: How would you describe your team and playing philosophy?
A: The team consists of players of all levels, ages, genders and backgrounds. On the field we act as a well-tuned team. We are aware of our weaknesses and we want to achieve the best possible results. Our goal is to give our best on the field and we plan to surprise even teams with more experience. We want to learn the “slowpitch spirit” from teams with longer tradition.

Q: Which team/s do you expect as the favorite/s for the 2016 season?
A: It is impossible to say which team is the favorite this year. Teams with players from the USA are definitely the strongest. All other teams are fairly equal. We expect an interesting and close season where the outcome will also depend on having some luck. This year each team can win or lose.
We hope that the Bulldogs will finish among first five teams

Q: Anything else you want to say?
A: The ESSL is making a great job on developing slowpitch in Europe. Thank you.

Why did you choose that name Guzzlers for your team? What is the meaning for it?
A: The Guzzlers are an international team that has chapters all over the world, were established in 1988. We are a “Band of Brothers” that share a passion for the game and love to compete. The European Guzzlers were came into existence in 2014, we are striving to emulate the success and recognition the rest of the international teams have. We were fortunate that we were given permission to call ourselves Guzzlers. We hope to, some day, earn the respect and reputation our brotherhood before us has worked so hard to obtain.

What do you expect from this season in the ESSL?
A: This season we expect to help this game grow throughout Europe even more than the previous years. We hope to be competitive with all the other teams in the league. We look forward to some great games and tournaments. More over, we are looking forward to the strengthening our friendships with the wonderful people associated with the ESSL. We have recruited a few new players and we are excited to introduce them to European Softball.

How would you describe your team and playing philosophy?
A: Our team is a melting pot of exceptional talent and character. We exist and operate more like a family than a team. After all, we spend more time together as a family in our homes than we do as a team between the chalk lines.

How would you describe your team and playing philosophy?
A: Our team is comprised of players who pride themselves on family and hard work. They stay fundamentally sound and ensure that all surrounding players are confident and prepared to support their team. Nothing more fundamental than family, and we stay focused on that aspect both on and off the field.

Which team/s do you expect as the favorite/s for the 2016 season and how would you predict the outcome?
A: I can honestly say that I believe every tournament will be a coin toss on which team will win from tournament to tournament. Every team has made exponential improvements in these first two seasons. No team in this league can be predicted as a favor to win it. I am extremely excited to see every game that will be played this season. I know every run in every game will be a fight.

Anything else you want to say?
A: Thank you, Marc, and everyone else involved in making the ESSL the success that it is. It is a privilege and honor to be a part of it.

Why did you choose that name Eagles for your team? What is the meaning for it?
A: The Wiesbaden community sports team name “Eagles” is a tradition.

What was the reason to choose to play the ESSL?
A: Our intent is to promote the sport, sportsmanship and the community of its players and families.

What do you expect from this season in the ESSL?
A: New locations for our team to have some fun and play some softball!

How would you describe your team and playing philosophy?
A: Our team is comprised of players who pride themselves on family and hard work. They stay fundamentally sound and ensure that all surrounding players are confident and prepared to support their team. Nothing more fundamental than family, and we stay focused on that aspect both on and off the field.

Which team/s do you expect as the favorite/s for the 2016 season?
As we are a new team to the ESSL, we look forward to making many new and amazing friends with all the teams this season.

Predict the final rankings for the 2016 season:
Being a new team on the block, I can’t make a prediction just yet. If you ask me again midseason I might have a better answer for you.

Anything else you want to say?
We are excited and ready to play ball!!

Why did the team choose the name Grizzlies?
A: For us “Grizzlies” means strong and wild. OK, we are not as big as a grizzly in nature but we have speed and as soon as we wake up we find our strength. We already showed that strength in the 2014 season when we won, as the only European team, twice against the Guzzlers (USA). For this season the team is support by K.Noah. The company produces sport collections for softball, baseball, American football, ice hockey, etc.
K.Noah on Facebook

What do you expect from this season in the ESSL? 
A: We don’t have high expectations but we have the potential to beat every team in the league. I think this year everything is possible and we are definitely hungry Unfortunately, we miss our power hitter Michael Kane this season.
For this season we have a new logo and new additional uniforms. Our main goal is to create a good team spirit and of course we want to win.

Do you have any additional players? How would you describe your team & playing philosophy?
A: For this season we added some players from the Los Titanes, PGS and Los Coyotes. The Grizzlies are not a power team. We are a team with speed and defense. At the first tournament there might be some coordination problems but as soon as we start playing the team will grow together.

Which team/s do you expect as the favorite/s for the 2016 season?
A: I expect the European Guzzlers on first place. However, the Los Coyotes should not be underestimated this season.

Predict the final rankings for the 2016 season:
1. Guzzlers Europe
2. Wiesbaden Eagles
3. Los Coyotes
4. K.Noah Grizzlies
4. Guzzlers Black
6. Toros
7. Dream Team
8. Bulldogs

Anything else you want to say?
The core of the team knows each other since playing in the baseball youth program in Linz, Austria. In Slowpitch we found a new challenge.

Why did the team choose the name Toros?
A: Toros means Bulls. In Latin America a bull is a symbol of energy and perseverance. We decided to use this name as a symbol of “fighting” on the field until the last out.

What do you expect from this season in the ESSL? Do you have any additional players?
A: We expect that the ESSL will set another step towards a well-organized league and we expect a higher level of game. We added some new players to our roster from other ESSL teams, hoping that their experience will be helpful to increase our level of play.

How would you describe your team & playing philosophy?
A: We don’t have any particularly philosophy of playing. We go to the field and do our best, battling it out until the end of the game. We respect our opponents and take every game serious. We play with the same passion every inning.

Which team/s do you expect as the favorite/s for the 2016 season?
A: I see three clear favorites this season: Wiesbaden Eagles, Guzzlers Europe and Los Coyotes.

Predict the final rankings for the 2016 season:
1. Wiesbaden Eagles
2. Guzzlers Europe
3. Los Coyotes
4. Guzzlers Black
5. Grizzlies
6. Toros
7. Dream Team
8. Bulldogs

Anything else you want to say?
We expect that the league will take the next step to be more professional expecially with the uniforms.

We start the season with an interview series asking the managers about their team and their prediction about the favorites winning the ESSL. First off, the inteview with Guzzlers Black.

How was the team formed?  What is the story behind? 
Team was formed due to the current growth of our Guzzlers Europe Program in 2016.

What is the meaning of Guzzlers Black? Why did you choose that name?
Black is a great color, or absence of color.  We like the way it sounds.  Another flavor of Guzzlers Europe

What do you expect from the first season in the ESSL?
To Win.  I would expect  every team to have the same answer here.

Your team represents Germany. Where are the players coming from? 
Most live in the Kaiserslautern, German community; however we have some from England, Italy, and Croatia

Which team/s do you expect as the favorite/s for the 2016 season? 
All teams will be tough to beat this year.

Predict the final rankings for the 2016 season:
No Comment.

Please, introduce yourself
My name is Cardy Brown, co-founder of the team. I was born in Aruba (San Nicolas, Chocolate City). I played fast-pitch softball, coached and trained teams for many years here in the Netherlands. In 1999 I stopped playing active competition. Since then I started to support teams during international tournaments. On June 21 I will be going to Canada for the world championship fast-pitch 2015. There I will be supporting the Dutch National team with there stats and game plan.

When was your team founded and where is it located?
Our team was founded in 2015 by a group of Aruban friends living in the Netherlands. We are not based in a city. The team members live throughout the Netherlands. Our home games are played in Amstelveen, a few kilometers from Amsterdam.

What motivates you to play slowpitch?
For us, slowpitch is a game where we can reminisce about the good old days and have fun with old and new friends. But it’s also a way for us to tray and bring back the old mentality on and around the field. In the old days it was all about the love of the game. The game was played with passion, respect and pleasure. We as a team represent this way of playing but we also play to win the game and to play fair on the field.

How is the situation of slowpitch in your country?
For years modified pitch is the popular version here in the Netherlands. However, the real slowpitch is getting more popular and it’s increasing. The Dutch Softball Federation has started a slowpitch league with a record number of teams this year.

Give us a short history of your team
Our players are all from the second city of Aruba (San Nicolas, Chocolate City) witch is located in Netherlands Antilles also called the Dutch Caribbean. The Chocolate City Eagles team consists of retired baseball and fast-pitch softball players that have played on the highest level here in the Netherlands. Some of the players are still active in the fast-pitch competition.

What are your expectations for the future?
Our goal is to help to promote slowpitch here in the Netherlands as well as to create a new culture, get more teams involved and take the game to the most highest possible level. We hope that the Chocolate City Eagles could be the bridge that can bring the Dutch Caribbean and Dutch Slowpitch Softball Communities together, and to help each other to increase the slowpitch level here in the Netherlands.

Link: Chocolate City Eagles on Facebook

Team Stats: Los Coyotes

When was your team founded?
Los Coyotes as a club was founded in 2010.

In which city is your team located?
We are from Linz, Austria. Linz is the regional capital from Upper Austria and is a nice & friendly city on the Danube.

Give us a short history of your team
We as Dominicans love the game of baseball & softball. At the beginning a lot of players played baseball for several teams in Europe. After a while we were introduced to the game of Slowpitch. At the beginning we were skeptical but we soon realized that this game is very challenging. Exactly the challenge is somtheing that drives us. Since the foundation of the club we won all possible Slowpitch titles in Austria and last year we won our first ESSL tournament in Slovenia.

What do you expect from this season and what are your goals?
We expect a tough season because all teams definitely improved compared to last year. I am pretty sure that the games against US teams will be a fight until the last inning. We will also keep an eye on the Slovenians. Every year they are coming closer and closer. Our goal is to always play our best game and to have fun on & off the field.

What do you think of the ESSL?
The ESSL is a great opportunity to meet new friends, travel around Europe and to play Slowpitch on the highest possible level in Europe. For us it’s all about the game and the people. We love Slowpitch because there is so much friendship and respect involved. After a game everybody has fun and everything during a game is long gone. That’s the spirit of Slowpitch.

How do you see the future of the ESSL?
I foresee the ESSL as having a great future. More teams will be involved and the idea of the Super Cup is another step forward.

When was your team founded?
The team was founded in 2011.

In which city is your team located?
Our team is located in Linz. It’s the third largest city in Austria.

Give us a short history of your team
Our president and team player Ofraini Ortega founded the team in 2011 and named the club after the team he played in the Dominican Republic. We are a young and strong team but we have to learn how to play the game of Slowpitch on that high level. But we learn fast

What do you expect from this season and what are your goals?
We are working hard to have a great first year in the ESSL and our goal is to reach the top 4 ranking in the ESSL. Additionally, we aim to win the Austrian League (ASSL) and the Linz city championships.

What do you think of the ESSL?
ESSL is a great opportunity to play against the best Slowpitch teams in Europe.

How do you see the future of the ESSL?
The ESSL will have a bright future ahead with more teams participating.