A teenager has secured a place in the national softball team after learning the sport from his dad – who will be coaching the team.
Joseph Partridge, from Yeovil in Somerset, will be playing fast pitch softball for Team GB under-16s, who are coached by his dad Matt Partridge.
The team are preparing to travel to the European Championships, which take place from 29 June to 4 July in Czechia.
Joseph, 15, said: “I’ve been throwing balls around in the garden with my dad basically since as soon as I could walk. It was amazing.”
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“I know a lot of boys, it’s a good group. I’ve loved every step of it.
“You meet loads of different people and cultures. Everyone is always very respectful and fun,” Joseph added.
Matt got Joseph interested in softball after being introduced to it himself in 1989.
“I grew up in south Devon and we played locally. It’s not a big sport in the UK, so we travelled to Holland, Germany, we played in the USA. It was an incredible experience for me,” Matt said.
“We started having a family and I played less. I got more involved in encouraging my kids.”
Matt said softball has always been more popular in mainland Europe, but it is now growing in the UK.
“It’s quite a specialist sport and we’ve seen it grow,” he added.
“There’s a clear pathway for boys but for the girls it’s even more high profile. There’s the world championships coming up soon and Britain has got a great team.
“It’s a great time for softball in this country.”
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