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“It was an incredible emotion, a pride as a father but also as a coach”. These are the words of Filippo Francini, father of Daniel, who recently graduated as European champion with the Under 18 National Baseball team, beating Germany in the final. A success not only for dad Filippo, who since the 80s has fallen in love with gloves, transmitting the passion to Daniel, but also for Florentine sport.
“Nobody expected to win the title,” he says, “especially when we faced England in the semifinals, a team made up of a few Englishmen and many Americans.” A match that reached extra innings where Daniel gave a great contribution in a really difficult match. Then the victory in the final. “I was more tense than him, because he had all eyes on him. He was good, and seeing him raise that cup to the sky was something inexplicable for me.”
A long story that began at Antella, when dad Filippo was 8 years old. “It was 1981. Baseball was played mainly in the so-called Youth Games, student tournaments where all sports were played. Redy, a school in Ponte a Niccheri, reached the finals in Rome for baseball, and so the passion for this sport was born in the area. A field was built, and thanks to friends of my sister I went to try it and was fascinated by these wooden bats, these gloves and this leather ball. This passion was born in me, and I must say that I also played well”.
After he stopped playing, Filippo began his coaching career, almost at the same time as his father, because a year after he started teaching baseball, Daniel was born. “When I went to training, he often came to the field with me. My wife would bring him, take the balls, the bats and play with him. A love that was born right away.” Raised in Chianti Baseball, a club that already in 2018 celebrated the European success of Duccio Cassini with the Under 12 National Team, Daniel then moved to Serie A with Fiorentina.
Successes that must be highlighted, because they can be an inspiration for new athletes in a country where soccer dictates the law. “Unfortunately in Italy we do not have a general sports culture – continues Filippo -. Already from schools you can understand the difference between us and other European countries. In America children try all possible sports. Each boy must find the right sport for him, because not everyone can play soccer. Parents insist on sending their children to play soccer, but maybe they could be phenomenal in other sports and they don’t even know it because they have never tried anything else. It is proven that multidisciplinarity in the early years of life is the crucial factor for success at a sports level”.
And speaking of America, that’s where Daniel dreams of arriving one day. The new European champion turned 18 a few days ago and, in addition to talent, he also has time on his side to hope for a breakthrough in big-time baseball. “There were a lot of talent scouts taking notes at these European Championships, and our national team was one of those they were keeping an eye on. I don’t know if my son will get any offers. He’s already had scholarship offers from some American universities in the past, but first he has to get his diploma. We’ll see what the future holds.”
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