Melanie Cunningham Appointed Fast Pitch Head Coach – Dates Confirmed

ESF Fast Pitch Team Ireland
by Colum Lavery

Softball Ireland Fast Pitch Programme Confirmed

Softball Ireland Fast Pitch Head Coach Announced

Softball Ireland have confirmed the appointment of Melanie Cunningham as Ireland’s first Fast Pitch programme. Ms Cunningham will be responsible for the development of Fast Pitch Softball and leading Ireland’s first national team in 2015. Ms Cunningham has over 30 years experience of playing both Fast Pitch and Slow Pitch Softball at the highest level of the Game in the USA, Ireland and the United Kingom.

Introduction to Fast Pitch to be held on Saturday August 9, 2014

Saturday August 9, 2014 will see the first introduction to Fast Pitch Softball Session. Coach Cunningham intends the session to be fun and cover the basic differences between Slow Pitch and Fast Pitch Softball. Coach Cunningham has extended an invitation to all Female Softball Ireland Players to join the session from 1100 am on the 9th. An all male session will be ran later in the Autumn.

It is also with great pleasure that Softball Ireland can confirm that it has accepted Baseball Irelands kind offer to use the small field at Corkagh Park. Softball Ireland has also extended an invitation to Little League Girls who may be interested in joining the session to learn about a different variation of the sport.

Speaking on Baseball Irelands offer. SI President Colum Lavery said “we are overwhelmed by the generosity of Baseball Ireland in making their field available to us” he added ” this is another small step towards working with Baseball Ireland on joint projects and provides Softball Ireland players an opportunity to learn Fast Pitch on an excellent surface. We look forward to welcoming Baseball Ireland Board Members and Little League Players to our introduction day”

Players planning to attend are requested to email president@softball.ie in advance

About Corkagh Park

Irish-American Peter O’Malley, former owner and President of the Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball organisation, first met with the Irish Baseball & Softball Association in 1994. Havingalready developed baseball fields in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and China, O’Malley pledged $140,000 to the building of an Irish Baseball facility.

Building on the site began in June of 1997 and both fields were officially opened for play on July 4th, 1998. The facility incorporates a regulation sized adult field and an international standard Little League field. The fields are located in Corkagh Demesne Park in Clondalkin, West Dublin.

The fields are the centrepiece of Baseball activity in Ireland and play host to regular season league games for adult and youth teams as well as international fixtures.

How to get there
 

Take  the N7 (Naas Road) West. Make a right turn  at Newlands Cross Intersection – there is a Bewley’s Hotel on the right hand side. Go through two intersections with traffic lights
and make the first left hand turn AFTER a pedestrian crosswalk that has a small set  of lights. Follow that road (St Johns Road)  To the right and it will lead you straight to the entrance of Corkagh Demesne Park.

Follow 
the signs to the car park. After parking, to the right of the car park, there is a MAP of the park and where the baseball diamonds are located. Follow the footpath into the park. When you come to a fork in the road, go to the right. Walk for about 5 minutes and the fields will be located to the right past a row of trees. If all else fails, ask someone in the park and they will undoubtedly know where the baseball fields are.