Per l’Ambassador Steel Sports Salvatore Strippolicoach of the Fovea Embers, host the Family Day with Mike Piazza in his Foggia it was an unforgettable moment, which we will let you tell us about.
Salvatore, how did the day go for you Embers?
“We are all still very emotional about what happened in what was actually a two-day event, however, as Mike said, let’s breathe, slow down the game and try to articulate our thoughts…
First of all, we must necessarily talk about two completely different moments, the first, Friday, of a truly profound intensity.
We accompanied Mike to the church of San Michele in Monte Sant’Angelo, a suggestive place overlooking the gulf of Manfredonia with a breathtaking view and nativity scene architecture. A long walk, in which Mike was visibly involved, which reached its climax in front of the doors of the church, one of the most beautiful in the world.
We wanted to accompany Mike with our families, to let him experience an atmosphere of absolute involvement and instead we were all transported by the simplicity of a champion who had experienced everything in his life, whose looks revealed all the emotions that were passing through him at that moment .
Simplicity was the common thread throughout the day, an extraordinary man who walked with us through the streets of the town, an accomplice of our children in eating tarallini and cooked chestnuts on the street.”
Foggia cuisine was a common thread throughout the event…
“Yes, once we arrived at the camp, where he could immediately see the quality of our structure, our ladies received him with a nice lunch made of typical products and local specialities. The children welcomed him with drawings and the older ones were almost afraid to approach him. Then a beautiful, informal dinner closed the day, in the company of a hall-of-famer who provided moments of pure fun and enhanced the work of all the volunteers by repaying them for all the efforts made.”
And then, the field work.
“Indeed. The following morning, the meeting with the athletes, the coaches, the fans and the simply curious showed Mike’s character for the umpteenth time. He never shied away from any moment in which he was involved and believe me when I tell you that even in the few moments of relaxation, he and Gianmarco Faraone who accompanied him had no respite.
The meeting with the coaches immediately. Mike’s charisma gets inside you and gives you chills. Chieti, Bari, Teramo, I take it off e Foggiarealities so different, so distant, under the same roof, have witnessed the secret of the greatness of man and the communicative power of the technician.”
There were 46 athletes at the starting line, divided into groups of a maximum of 8.
Six 30-minute non-stop stations to then leave as much time as possible for convivial moments and questions/answers with Mike.
“Everyone had their moment with Mike and everyone had an individual talk about the psychological aspects of batting.
The parents were emotionally carried away by his charisma. But the seniors also benefited from it and still today they repeated Mike’s words like a mantra.”
The great collaboration of the technicians and senior athletes involved should also be noted: Maurizio Fine e Francesco D’Agnelli for internal defense; Alfredo Strippoli e Claudio Stefanelliexternal defense; Franco Giangola e Antonio Colon Ventura for pitchers; Freddy Pacheco ed Enzo Serino for receivers; Valerio Iacovelli e Daniele Spinapolice preparatory to serving; obviously Mike in the cage, assisted by Massimo Portuguese e Faithfulness, perhaps.
“And so on Graziano Primavera we had the arduous task of marking the times and maintaining relationships with all those who wanted to experience this moment with us in perfect Steel Sport style. At the time of greetings with the athletes, in the early afternoon, the 10 children from minibaseball were added, who immediately challenged their parents in an exhibition game in honor of Mike. Then he was the one who left everyone speechless when he showed the shirt worn at the Classic with a dedication offered as a gift to our clubhouse. That number 31 with the writing ‘Foggia friends forever’ will be the signature of this day”.
Summing up…
“More than 200 people came to the field, in the end 56 athletes had the honor of living a dream, while the entire senior team also collaborated in the success of the day or was simply listening. For our part, we can only thank Mike, Gianmarco, all the coaches who collaborated, the enthusiastic parents and the Federation for this opportunity which we are sure is only the first of a journey of involvement that will make everyone grow.”
Interview collected by Marco Landi
