Turkish Baseball Youth Championships
by Alper Bozkurt
The Turkish Youth Championships 2007 in Istanbul past weekend took place at Burhan Felek Sports Complex in Istanbul. Kent State College (Istanbul) won the title in the juvenile (10-12 year olds) competetion, Ali Fuat Cebesoy State School (Eskisehir) dominated the cadets (13-15 year olds) age group.
Six teams from Istanbul and Eskisehir fought for the Turkish Championship 2007 on Saturday and Sunday. After defeating Erenkoy and Ali Fuat Cebesoy Kent State College took the lead in the juvenile competetion and never gave it back beating all teams with big leads. The Ali Fuat Cebesoy Cadets Team beat Avrupa College (Istanbul) and Erenkoy in tough games on both days and took the championship in their age group just like Kent State College.
A total of 82 players participated in the first Baseball Championship ever hosted by the Turkish Baseball Federation. “It was a great event, the kids got to know each other and became friends, no matter who won and who lost. I had the opportunity to scout players for next years European Qualifier that the Turkish Baseball Federation is hosting in Antalya” remarked Alper Bozkurt (Head coach of the Turkish National and GM of the Turkish Baseball Academy).
The Turkish Baseball Federation is planning to send the juvenile national team to Abrantes (Portugal) to compete at an international tournament in November. The Istanbul Baseball League will start in April 2008.
