Jakub Janda did an interview with Austrian baseball federation representative Michael Vallant.
Jakub Janda: Please, give us a brief description of Austrian baseball.
Michael Vallant: The Austrian Baseball Federation ABF was established in 1983. The National Team Seniors program was set up in 1990, followed by the Juniors National Team in 1993. Since then Austria has established himself among the top 15 nations in Europe with the biggest success being the participation in the European Championships in Barcelona in 2007.
JJ: What about the Austrian national team of cadets?
MV: The Austrian National Team Cadets was established in 1997. After being relegated to the Qualifier pool in 2004 the team won the Qualifier in 2005. The best showing came in 2007 when the team finished in fourth place.
JJ: What are your country’s goals for the ECH? What would you consider a success?
MV: The goal for the 2010 championship is to finish in fifth place which would be a huge success for the team.
JJ: How has your team been preparing for the 2010 European Cadet Championship? What kind of preparation have you gone through in last two years?
MV: Like the last years the preparation consisted of several preparation camps during the winter indoor and summer outdoor seasons with the enhancement of some preparation games and a national tournament. For the final tune up a week long training camp will be held right before the championship.
JJ: Do you know anything about Czech national team? Do you have any experience with them?
MV: The Austrian cadets have played against the Czech National Team during the EHC Cadets several times. The Czech Republic was normally on the winning side but in 2009 the Austrian National Team upset the Czech team by winning 6-5 at the EHC cadets.
Mister-Baseball thanks Jakub Janda and Michael Vallant for the Q&A.
