01 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP – SPRING CUP 2014
March 2014 – Farnham Park – Imperial College Falcons

Fresher’s Fair by Queen’s Tower. There were stalls a plenty, with people begging for you to become a member of their society. I had a drawstring back chock-a-block with free goodies and leaflets, for societies I did not ever think of joining – I mean, I wasn’t ever going to be a member of the Nordic society, was I?

I however did my research long before Fresher’s Fair. I had an idea of what I was interested in joining, and wading through the many stalls, I found what I searched, though it was hard to find.

The three societies I wanted to join were the African/Caribbean society, the Baseball society and the Rounders society. The African/Caribbean society was easy to reach, they in fact found me on the first day, at Princes Gardens outside my halls, asking me to join. Great, that’s one sorted.

I was never the sportiest person, in fact I disliked almost every team sport I was forced to play at school. I also had memories playing football in Corsica, some interesting, most irritating. I simply could not feign any interest for almost all sports. As a young child. I was fascinated with football; not because of the game itself, but because the players had numbers on their shirts – I loved maths and anything numerical and wanted a football shirt. My dad, a staunch Liverpool fan, got me a custom Liverpool kit – Carlsberg/Reebok era, with my name on the back, along with a Liverpool-branded football. I certainly enjoyed owning the shirt, much less the game it was associated with. For a week, I vowed to make my dad happy (he wanted a sporty son) and pretended to be a Liverpool fan and a boy dreaming of becoming a footballer for a week, only to go back to what I truly liked playing… Neopets.

I wasn’t unathletic, I enjoyed running and athletics, namely because I didn’t have to deal directly with people who took P.E. far too seriously (it’s not the world cup, people!) Not all team sports were dreaded. Rounders and softball were the highlights, the diamonds in the rubble compared to football, basketball, rugby and hockey. I left for university liking two team sports, at least, even though one of them was very obscure, in the UK at least.

I vowed to make my dad proud and give him the sporty son he wished for. I looked find a team sport during university. Societies, after all, were a great way to make friends outside of my course and halls… and on drunken nights out.

Rounders society deemed almost impossible to find, upon recollection. I’m not sure their stand even existed. As I’d discover later, it was a miniscule society with a single-digit total membership. My housemates in third year were members, and I tried to head with them to play some rounders, but upon congregation outside Beit Hall, we didn’t have enough players for one team.

The baseball society had a much healthier membership. Imperial Falcons Baseball – Started by Gary Lam a few years before I began uni, I didn’t get the meet the Falcons’ pioneer proper. I remember the leaflet (and it may still be in my possession) – a baseball player catching a ball with the Pokemon catchphrase next to him. Ahh, university.

Turns out, training would be at 10am on Saturday. Even though I told my dad I would go back home for the weekend… those plans were cancelled as I’d be playing some baseball instead.

I was excited to check it out. Baseball being similar to rounders and slowpitch at school, it was a no-brainer to start playing. It transpired quickly that baseball is quite a bit harder than the other two games I was more familiar with.

I turn up to Kensington Gardens, not too far from the Albert Memorial, in my ugly black and green Lonsdale capri-length shorts. I saw players with elegant blue and red jerseys (Imperial branded) and I instantly wanted my own. I had never owned a sports shirt with my name on, for a team I played for, so my staunch goal was to obtain one.

The Imperial Falcons were a very friendly, though relatively quiet, bunch of people. Dan, in his last year, a talented player was the club captain and though quite reserved, always approached everything in a friendly and understanding way.

I picked up one of the gloves – and not having played with a glove before (softball at school was a very barebones affair, we caught balls with our bare hands), it took some time to get used to catching with it. My hand-eye co-ordination was nothing compared to what it is now, so it would take some time to get used to regular throwing and catching. Eventually, we would each undergo some batting practice. I distinctly remember hitting a lot of pop-ups in the air, which perhaps could fly in school softball, but not on the baseball field – where there were people who tended to be able to catch pop-ups.

I enjoyed getting out and trying baseball, and with the friendly group, I made sure to attend the next sessions. They were looking for people to join the team for the university championships; with many key members having graduated. I doubted I was under consideration, but at that point I was not interested in playing in important matches. I still had bad memories from team sports so was far too nervous to put my name in the ring.

There were some friendly games where I was encouraged to come along and play, so I did. Still relatively anxious, I would travel to the Falcons; home ground, home to many memories, bad and good. Deep in obscure Harlington, not too far from Heathrow but relatively hard to reach – using the Piccadilly Line and the H98 bus, home to not just Imperial baseball but other sports teams, as well as doubling up as QPR’s training ground – a marked baseball pitch. Right next to the pitch, our spectators were a pair of ‘cow-horses’, they had season tickets and were adoring fans. We’d feed them the odd weed or two when waiting for our at-bat.

Being almost twelve years ago, I don’t remember who were we playing against in my first baseball appearance; presumably one of the other London teams, most likely UCL. I was able to wear a spare jersey, along with the hideous black and green shorts, and no less, a pair of bright red, ugly, football boots – an early case of my designing my sports outfits; the red would match the red outline on the word Imperial on the jersey.

Practices continued through the winter, and we also took regular visits to the batting cages in Northwick Park, when they still existed (there was a humorous event when one of the Falcons misread South Kenton as South Kensington and thus turned up an hour late). I started to get the hang of things and really enjoyed training and hanging out with the fellow Falcons, but I did not want to play the university league games.

It would not be until March 2013 until I mustered up the courage to play in a league game – incidentally one of the last games of the year. Still without a jersey, I had some baseball pants this time. They were so baggy, they looked like the pyjama trousers (Paul Lukas of UniWatch would write a 1000-word blogpost slating them), though they were of similar width to the softball Boombah trousers I’ve coveted for half a decade.

We would play against the UEA Blue Sox and were due at Croydon Baseball Field (near Croydon Airport) early in the morning. An awkward place to get to; we travelled there once before, lugging all the equipment on a Southern Train and a busy 119 bus – and this was where we played a friendly game in the bitterly cold snow. Snow can’t stop us.

The games turned out a little bit of a disaster for me. I vowed to play right field as I didn’t really want anything coming to me, lest I make a mistake which could cost the team a win, and them absolutely decimating me with bats… well according to the nightmare before the game. The consensus of the Falcons, along with the Peanuts comic strip, taught me was that right field wasn’t a spot with much action. This would not turn out to be true, as the Blue Sox had a few lefties in the roster, who could hit well. Fast ground balls came my way, which went through my legs. The beating didn’t come, but what did was angry shouting from Hajime who demanded I was swapped to left field instead, where no further balls came my way, thankfully. I don’t remember how I hit; I can’t imagine it was anything to write home about – mostly walks and strikeouts.

It wasn’t a good showing, but it gave me some confidence to play team sports at a competitive level. My teammates had my back, they weren’t going to cast me out for mistakes.

I eventually got my jersey after the season ended, and it remains one of my prize possessions. It was good to bring it out in 2022 when I played once more in Croydon.

At the union bar for an afternoon drink, a bunch of us looked back on the relatively successful season, onto the next. We had it planned out; I would train to become a second baseman as I was under the impression that infielders were of far more importance to outfielders. There were a few key players leaving, including the lovely Dan who would be graduating and moving out of London. The 2013/14 season was something however to look forward to, with the hope that more people would join.

One of the most influential Falcons would join us in Autumn 2013. Ashley… often known as Zoltan, as he would always wear the spare jersey with that name, made big waves in the club. A very good player, having previously played in Singapore, had a vision for the club and he was keen to implement his ideas. It wouldn’t be until third year where he would become official club manager, but he de facto became the club captain, sorting out all the line ups.

With him at the helm, I found a permanent home on the pitch. Right field. Every. Single. Game. My goal to become the starting second base was thwarted, as Rhys, a new joiner, was able to master the position a lot better than I ever did. University baseball is not the highest standard, and unless lefties were playing, there was little chance of me getting any action in the field. I became quickly annoyed at the situation, resenting even playing baseball whilst all the action was taking place to my right. I made my teammates aware of my diatribes. One friendly game… FRIENDLY, mind you, I asked constantly whether I could play not only an infield position… anywhere but right-field; and yet, I would be finding myself there, whilst Ashley had the privilege of trying to pitch (and struggling!) Rhys could sense I was very upset and offered to swap positions with me for the rest of the second game of the day. After numerous walks from the pitcher, a pop-up came straight to second base’s vicinity, and I caught it to end the inning. Seething with passion, this was the first time my competitive spirit blazed through.

Ashley did not appreciate the backchat, so arranged a meeting with me along with a few other Falcons. I was diminishing the position of right field, and should people be placed there, they would feel like they are one of the worse players on the team. He had somewhat of a point, though it was quite flawed – and the candid truth is, that right field, on average, sees the least action (unless you play with a team full of lefties). I could attest to that quite easily. Even years later, playing softball, in most cases, hits to the outfield tend to be towards left field and left centre. It is a coveted skill for a rightie to hit to the right side of the field. Frankly, standard wise, British university baseball is a far cry from the MLB.

My point of view was valid, and I was merely asking to be able to play something other than right field. At least put me in left field, yet Ashley forbade it. This was for friendly games, mind you. Baseball now became a huge point of frustration, instead of a fun activity. Politics gets in the way of everything.

My request was not considered, and I would continue to play right field regularly, not doing many wonders for my self-esteem. I felt like a dud, only being taken because there wasn’t anyone better – right field would be the best place to hide me.

The 2014 University Baseball Championships would take place; all the way up in Norwich to face UEA again, amongst other teams. East Anglia/Norwich always provided a high standard of baseball, from when I was a Falcon to the days when I was a Musketeer. The drive was long in the mini-bus, masterfully driven by Chris. The weather was not great and it wasn’t a particularly fun romp, as I was playing right field yet again and didn’t see much game time at that.

I was made to play for another team who had a lack of players on their roster. This was bittersweet, as I was able to play different positions. Yet, I was not playing for my own team – it wasn’t a very good feeling. It was a distinctly unsatisfying weekend, and I was ready to throw in the towel and try a new sport. Softball, that is.

Ashley was great in introducing slowpitch softball to the club, even procuring softballs and softball-specific bats. Both games are similar, after all, and there were some softball tournaments that we could potentially enter. For all the issues I had with Ashley, he was very good with getting softball on the map, converting the club to a baseball AND softball club. One tournament caught his eye, right after the baseball championships.

We would be throwing around softballs, practicing fielding, and hitting the balls. It was markedly easier than hitting a baseball pitch and I was finding instant success. Ashley indeed noticed this and observed me really getting into it.

He knew I didn’t enjoy the baseball championship in Norwich and told me not to give up. He highly recommended that I play the university softball tournament instead. The tournament would be held in Farnham Park, and Chris would be driving the team there. I reluctantly accepted the offer – it also gave me a chance to show off my jersey once more – I loved wearing that thing. I would be on my way towards Slough on the Saturday morning, a little apprehensive but generally quite excited.

Farnham Park was quite a special place. Opened in July 2013, the Falcons had never made a visit until March 2014. Our home ground at Harlington was not a patch on this new venue, and when I first set foot on this now very familiar domain, I was flabbergasted. Well maintained dirt pitches, with dugouts, and even a proper mound on one of the pitches!  

Farnham Park looked a little different compared to the current day. Home Plate did not exist, and the familiar ‘Field 1’ right by home plate did not exist, there being some football pitches, lonely goal posts and rugby posts on that terrain instead. Farnham’s current Field 2 was the premier pitch at the time. We would however be playing most of our games on what are now known as fields 3 and 4.

Liz Knight, a very familiar name in the coming years, co-ordinated the event. It was Imperial’s first appearance at the National University Softball Championships, and the first appearance for the Falcons at Farnham Park. It would be the first of now countless appearances of yours truly at this much-cherished arena.

The visit to Farnham Park really did invigorate me, along with the rest of the team, we were all very impressed with the ground. We felt like minor league players in the USA – this new facility was the crown jewel for British baseball.

Slowpitch softball encourages a gender balance within the roster, however the Imperial Falcons club was severely lacking in women! We turned up to the tournament with an all-male roster, and so had to face penalties for each game we played. It was then that Ashley’s mind started ticking, planning to recruit some women into the club for next year (in the future he would coax his now wife to play for us).

A combination of our unfamiliarity with softball (there was a lot of walking as we didn’t have anyone who could reliably pitch), and the penalties our team incurred for being a sausage-fest, we left the tournament without a single win in our belt. We did however have a great time, discovering this new arena, and just playing a good deal of softball.

It was at this point where Ashley relinquished me from right-field duty, allowing me time into the infield which I constantly coveted. His reasoning was that in slowpitch softball, outfield is more important than infield, hence I would be downgraded to second base, my then desired position. I also requested to try pitching, it looked quite fun – but I couldn’t really twist Ashley’s arm all too much. Making it into the infield was already a result.

Being a long time ago, a lack of a match report (we were too embarrassed to publish our complete losing record on Felix, the university newspaper), and no photos I only distinctly remember a few moments of the day:-

· Losing every game

· Meeting Liz Knight for the first time.

· Getting to play positions in the infield.

· Getting a fair few solid hits.

· One particular woman who seemed to struggle hitting the ball, swinging long after it had crossed the plate. Amused me for some reason and always kept in my mind.

Re-discovering slowpitch softball after five years, treading foot on Farnham Park for the first time, I truly had a good time for my first visit. This would be an event of firsts – my first of many visits to Farnham Park, and first of many, many more softball tournaments in the future. This tournament may have saved my baseball/softball career. Thanks Farnham, and thanks Liz!