Local Athletes Hit It Off in Italy

When the sports coaches of four Tri-Town softball players approached them and asked if they would like to travel to Italy to be on the U.S.A. Premier Softball Team to play against Italian teams, their reply was obvious. Um, yeah! Of course!

Mia Vercellone of Rochester, Meghan Cassidy of Mattapoisett, and Hannah and Michaela Guard of Marion recently returned from a trip to Italy to tour its scenic landscape and play softball against other Italian girls’ and women’s softball teams all across the country.

“I thought it was a joke,” said Vercellone, remembering the voicemail her volleyball coach left her last year. “I listened to it a few times. I couldn’t believe it.”

The Guard sisters’ coach called their father to pitch the idea as the girls stood nearby. “He was like, girls, do you want to go to Italy and play softball?” said Hannah. The girls gave a resounding “yeah!”

Susan Loo, a girls’ softball coach from Fairhaven, has been coordinating student sports trips to Italy for about ten years, ever since the trio that used to coordinate the trips while her son was involved in soccer decided to step aside.

“I enjoyed it so much that I started to do the organizing,” said Loo. “I saw what an amazing opportunity it was for my son, and I wanted to be able to offer that same amazing opportunity to others in the area.”

Loo said she looks for recommendations from area coaches for possible participants, chosen based on their respectfulness and sportsmanship on and off the field.

“The girls this year were amazing in every sense of the word,” said Loo. Five other girls from Wareham, Fairhaven, Plymouth, and Lakeville joined the group as well. “Amazing young ladies.”

The girls prepared for the trip for months and when the time finally came, they were ready for their athletic adventure.

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” said Vercellone. I didn’t know if they (the Italians) played softball the way that we do.”

Italy made some strong first impressions on the girls, especially for Vercellone. “The smell was different. It smells different from here,” said Vercellone, making Hannah and Michaela laugh on July 14 during an interview. “They have a sweet smell in the air. Even my dad said that.”

It was pretty hot and humid, agreed Vercellone, Hannah and Michaela, saying it was “like, a hundred degrees.” They took a three-hour bus ride from the airport, during which they took a nap, and arrived in Verona for their first game.

“We were in the middle of nowhere for our first game,” said Hannah. “I thought it was going to be scary because the girls were a lot older than us.” But, once they started playing, Hannah said, it was a great time. “I thought they were going to slaughter us because they were so much older.” But surprisingly, they didn’t.

They also got the chance to play with the Italian national team, as well as the Australian nation team.

The girls noticed a few differences between the two countries, both when it came to the sport in Italy and the culture.

“Playing with them was like playing here,” said Michaela. “But they cheered differently. And we couldn’t understand what the coach was trying to say (to the other team). We didn’t know if she was gonna bunt or something or steal.”

Oh, and the Italians also wore shorts during games instead of long pants like they do, which the girls thought was weird, and potentially uncomfortable when sliding into a base.

“But it was hot,” they said, admitting they wore shorts during one of the games.

What was most thrilling to Loo was how well the girls represented the U.S.A.

“We also met a player from the U.S.A. who lives in Italy,” said Loo. “She joined us in one of our games. Her family is from Rhode Island.”

In addition to some of the Australian nation team members, the star softball player from the University of Florida also played on the girls’ team.

“The girls enjoyed that,” said Loo.

Five games, eleven nights. In between games, the girls travelled all over the country to Venice, Milan, Pisa, Porto Venere, Lecco, and Piano di Bobbie, a mountain near the Alps. In between games, the girls ate pizza, lots of pasta, socialized, rode in Venetian gondolas, and took a lot of pictures.

Hannah said her favorite stop was Porto Venere, a small port town with a castle. “The view was amazing. It was right on the water,” said Hannah.

“It was breathtaking,” said Michaela. “A picture right out of a magazine. You’d think you’d never be able to go there. And all the colors make the picture so pretty. The green and turquois water contrasted with the houses painted orange, yellow and pink….”

They ate gelato every day, of course, said Vercellone. Michaela found the pasta a little “hard and chewy,” but Vercellone argued that it wasn’t any different from here. But the pizza…. The pizza, said Vercellone, was delicious.

“We had pizza with one of the teams,” said Vercellone. “They kept looking at me. I was eating my pizza wrong.”

In Italy, the girls learned the proper way to eat a slice of pizza – by folding it in half. They also learned a lesson in Italian coffee drinking – espresso. It was much stronger and came in small cups, said Vercellone. “I really missed my iced coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts.”

“Not a lot of girls get to leave the country to play softball,” said Vercellone, who plans on attending the trip next year.

“And it’s not just about playing softball,” said Hannah. “It’s about seeing another culture.”

The girls hope to attend next year, which could be a trip to southern Italy for a change.

“The girls had such an amazing experience they have asked about going again,” said Loo. “Different areas, as long as games are available.”

It’s a once in a lifetime experience, said Hannah. “But if you have another chance, then go!”

Anyone interested in learning more about the U.S.A. Premier girls’ softball trip, contact usapremiersoftball@gmail.com. Players are selected by recommendations by coaches and adults.

By Jean Perry

Soccer_Italy

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