Czech Adéla plays baseball in Britain. In Czech she had been sent to play softball
The British Baseball Federation announces the launching of women’s baseball and the UK is joining other countries giving women the space to participate in this discipline.
For a Czech fan, this news wouldn’t be that interesting, however, when we look at the names of players that were part of the first WB-UK women’s baseball tournament in summer 2019, it’s hard not to spot the name Adéla Koubová. This Czech girl has played baseball in the UK for some time and that is one of the reasons why she received the invitation to take part in this historical tournament.
“I did an internship in London last year where I started playing for the London Mets. There are two girls playing for them and we were both participating and representing them in this women’s baseball tournament.”
Of course, we were curious how did the Czech baseball player get into baseball because before the interview, we couldn’t find any mention of her in the Czech youth competitions and even a questioned specialist on Czech softball didn’t know her name.
“I started playing in Richmond five years ago.” Surprised us Adéla’s answer. “I have found this sport very appealing since I was a kid and when I was in England for a longer period of time, I just searched up a team close by and contacted them. Their answer was very warm and welcoming, the season was just starting and I was encouraged to come and give it a try.”
“They were building a new team so was good I wasn’t the only beginner. Baseball totally absorbed me and that year I hadn’t missed a single game or practice. The first season I played in Single-A, after that in Double-A,” revealed a university student of architecture on her beginnings. For a Czech fan it is necessary to mention that in Britain the league classification system is very similar to that one in the USA. The top league is NBL after that follow Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A. Last year Adéla played for the team Mustangs in Single-A, representing the club London Mets.
As our chat progressed, we also got to the topic of if Adéla has tried to play baseball in the Czech Republic, after all she hasn’t been spending all her time just in Britain. “When I got back to Czech in 2015 I really wanted to keep playing baseball so at first I contacted Eagles and later on Kotlářka. But I have been advised to switch to softball. In Kotlářka I managed to go to two baseball practices but it didn’t feel right plus I wouldn’t be allowed to play in a game anyways unlike in the UK,” was her surprising answer.
Thanks to this, the interview had taken the direction following The Czech Baseball Federation’s representative team that was built for the European Championship in women’s baseball last year.
It was hard not to ask if she would accept an invitation to wear the Czech national jersey. “The question is if I am good enough,” says Adéla modestly. “Representing the Czech Republic in baseball that is something you can never say no to. I really love this sport and its atmosphere, I wouldn’t say no to any opportunity to play.”
Baseball is Adéla’s number one sport but she doesn’t watch any baseball leagues very closely. “To be absolutely honest, I mainly just enjoy playing it,” admits a Czech baseball player representing London Mets, adding: “Baseball fields in Czech are so nice though unlike Britain’s ones where their conditions are quite often poor. Well the level of baseball in the Czech Republic is much better than in the United Kingdom but thanks to that I could have started playing baseball in the first place! I was very pleased to find out that The British Baseball Federation is supporting the idea of women’s baseball,” says Adéla at the end of our conversation. The only Czech girl playing league baseball in Great Britain.
