Fifteen years of history for the Genova Rookies. Fifteen years of commitment, passion and promotion of baseball and softball in the Ligurian capital. A special birthday celebrated at the Festa dello Sport 2024 in a packed tent.
In the presence of the sports councilors of the Liguria Region (Simona Ferro) and the Municipality of Genoa (Alessandra Bianchi), the president of Coni Liguria (Antonio Micillo) and the delegate of FIBS Liguria (Flavio Pomogranato), the president Livio Caponi and his staff awarded the protagonists of these first three decades of history and will remember the most beautiful pages written from 2009 to today, with an eye already projected towards future development projects.
Genova Rookies are a key reality for the world of baseball and softball in Genoa. Born from the passion of three founding members (Carlo “Kalle” Masnata, Clemente Filippo and Livio Caponi), they now boast 80 athletes and almost 100 people who actively work for the company. “Over the years we have always had continuous growth and, although the pandemic has inevitably slowed the positive trend, we can proudly say that we are getting back up to the best of our ability” says Caponi.
In the 2023/2024 sports season, the Genova Rookies took to the field with 6 teams: under 12 men, under 13 women, under 15 both men and women and, finally, senior men and senior women (for this season in collaboration with Novara Athletics and Milano Ares). “We cannot fail to mention our very important amateur activity that involves all age groups and all categories. Finally, we would like to underline that, even in the categories in which we do not directly have official activities, we have a large number of kids on loan to other teams, so that they can grow and improve – continues Caponi – Our home, the Iren Field, is one of the main reasons for pride: it is the first and only synthetic grass field in Italy for the softball and under 12 categories. It is a real gem in the city center, created thanks to the contribution of all the members. We would also like to thank Iren – our main sponsor – for the great support it offers us by making many of our activities possible”.
But what does it mean to be Rookies? It doesn’t mean to be beginners… perhaps a valid translation in Italian could be ‘esordienti’. Rookies is, in fact, the name that, in America, is given to Major League players in their first year in the Big League. And it is precisely with this spirit that the Genoa Rookies face and live our sport every day: even those who have been playing for years, always enter with the spirit and enthusiasm of the rookie taking his first steps on the red clay.
In the last season Genova Rookies has tried to expand the number of athletes that
approach its disciplines and also combined the opportunity to try the game of football, in both flag (less contact) and tackle versions. “To do this we have organized a calendar of promotional days that we have called “streetball”, in places of aggregation with a high turnout (squares, fields, schools etc.), where children and teenagers of school and pre-school age can try for free to practice these sports so little known in Italy, supported by professional coaches” concludes Caponi.
On the occasion of the birthday party, there were the delivery of the Gold Glove to Carlo Masnata, former president and for his 15 years of activity Rookies, the Silver Glove (10 years of activity) to Bryan Holguin, Alessio Nasso, Andrea Moiola, Alice Raimondo, Lilian Pappot, Samuele Frustace, Francesca Cavalla, Marco Ferrari, Alessia Ferrando, Francesco Puglisi, Alessandro Graffione, Margherita Colamartino, Michele Maneggia, Anna Re and Carlo Masnata, the Bronze Glove to Emanuele Spinetta, Francesca Cavalla, Tommaso Frixione, Filippo Clemente, Francesco Puglisi, Giacomo Glioti, Davide Incandela, Gabriel Menso, Valentina Varone, Daniele Brando, Jacopo Parisi, Ludovico Carbone, Anna Re and Carlo Masnata.
Front Office GENOVA
President: Livio Caponi
Vice President: Francesco Puglisi
Secretary: Valentina Varone
Front Office RAPALLO
President: Francesca Cavalla
Vice President: Sasha Angulo
Secretary: Matteo Cigna
Sports High Schools
The Genova Rookies have consolidated a stable partnership with sports high schools in order to disseminate and promote the American methodology of teaching sports disciplines, also through Motor Sciences.
ML King Sports High School
Emiliani Sports High School
Liceti Sports High School
University
For more than ten years we have been the Internship Center for the Degree Course in Sports Science at the University of Genoa. Every year we train students with the aim of transmitting basic knowledge to take to schools or to start a career as a coach in our sports disciplines.
2024-07-27 10:02:36
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