Great Britain appoints new U-18 women’s softball head coach

Great Britain appoints new U-18 women’s softball head coach
27/08/2020
Kathleen Laster will lead Great Britain at the U18 Women's European Championship, to be held from 19-24 July, 2021.

The British Softball Federation (BSF) announced the appointment of Kathleen Laster as the head coach of the U-18 Women’s Softball National Team. Great Britain will participate in the category’s European Championship next July in Prague, which will be a qualifier for the WBSC Under-18 Women’s World Cup in 2022.

An experienced US-based coach and an expert in softball analytics, Laster replaces Robbie Robison in the role. Laster, has coached at the high school, club and college level in USA.

“I am honoured and excited to be able to lead the GB Under-18 Women’s Team,” said Laster. “The BSF has created a distinguished women’s fastpitch programme with success at all levels and being able to join their great group of coaches is a wonderful opportunity. I know that coaching from abroad will present its own set of challenges, but I am excited to utilise technology to help this team grow and prepare for the European Championship next summer.”

Great Britain, currently ranked No. 13 in the world, participated in three straight Junior Women’s Softball World Championships (2013, 2015 and 2017). However, the streak was over in 2019, after a sixth-place finish at the U-19 Women’s Softball European Championship that saw them miss qualifying for the last U-19 WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup, played in 2019 in Irvine.

In 2016, the British squad won their only U-18 women’s softball European Championship in Spain, with a 1-0 win over Italy in the final.