16-time champions, France’s most prolific team of the past two decades is ready to start a new campaign. They’ve secured the services of one of their most prolific players in history.
Boris Marche succeeds a living legend, the Franco-Venezuelan slugger, Keino Perez. Watch out
friends, Rouen is back on the road, impossible not to know this extraordinary club. Whether you like them or not, the Huskies are making history. Here’s a condensed version of another story. That of a baseball « veteran » with unparalleled instinct, whose heart will continue to beat to guide the Pack.
Above, Boris, baseball, and numbers
Boris Marche, former international, father of two, physiotherapist, and once the charismatic catcher of the Rouen Huskies, is now 40 years old. He imposed his power on many opponents who must still remember it. In Elite and D1 and for the French national team. Standing at 6 feet tall, he guided and supported a plethora of pitchers, some of whom still play on diamonds far beyond our borders. His experience was accumulated with the Lions de Savigny (almost 1 year) and, as everyone knows, within the pack of the « Rouen Huskies ».
BTVF: Boris, can you tell us when baseball entered your life?
B.M.: I started in 1992 at the age of 11 in a club in the Lyon region.
BTVF: Can you summarize your career in a few words?
B.M.: In Lyon, I had the chance to discover baseball and to have passionate coaches who transmitted their love for the game to me. I then went to the Rouen hope pole created by Sylvain Virey and during my year there, Robin Roy, then manager of the Rouen team, offered me the chance to join the star team of Normandy.
The following year I went to the Insep, Guillaume Coste was the manager and I had my first selection for the senior French national team in 1999. We finished 3rd in the European Championship and then 4th in 2001.
2001 is a very special memory for me, it’s my first season in « Junior college » in the US, at Sierra College in California. We reached the State playoffs
In 2002 was the year of the first French championship title with Savigny (loan).
In 2003 I continued at the US college of Oxnard in California. Then the same year, back to Rouen and first title with the Huskies. Since this first title with the Huskies, I had the chance to experience 13 others as a player. The team at the time was really very strong (as it is today) and we participated in the European Champions Cup every year. In 2007, we finished second. A highlight in my career.
In parallel, I experienced baseball internationally and participated in the European Championships with the French national team until 2015. With the Blues, I have two participations in the World Championship in 2001 and 2003.
BTVF: Can you share your best moments, your worst memory?
B.M.: It’s difficult to limit myself to one moment as there are so many memories. My career has been long. Each match individually can bring out the best and the worst. And I’ve played so many!
For the best memory, I would say all the victories with Rouen in the championship and in the European Cup.
A painful memory, perhaps a defeat against the Czech Republic at their home in Blansko in extra innings at the European Championships of 2005.
BTVF: Your promotion as coach of the Huskies has been announced, in what context were you informed? Did you suspect it?
B.M.: Following Keino’s departure for the France pole in Toulouse, we had anticipated several leads that did not materialize. The idea of coaching the team had been on my mind for some time, we discussed it with Sylvain Virey and Pierre-Yves Rolland and they were immediately enthusiastic. We then had to coordinate everything with work and family life. I am lucky to be supported and encouraged at home and I was able to organize myself.
BTVF: How do you see the dynamics of a sports team?
B.M.: I have the chance to take over a team with excellent foundations, with undeniable historical depth. It’s a wonderful legacy left by Keino and François Colombier that has been built over the years, through victories, the crazy energy generated by the strength of the group, its joys and a few tears, the winning culture, which I believe is today a trademark of the Huskies.
I think it’s important to surround yourself with competent people in the staff and I’ve done that well.
It’s also necessary to be very well structured within the club. I communicate a lot with Sylvain Virey, the sports director of the Huskies who is always good advice and of course with Luc Piquet with whom I have known so many victories.
BTVF: What type of coach do you think you embody? In your opinion, what is the most important thing for the team?
B.M.: I think I am a demanding but fair coach. I prioritize the relationship with the players, which is the most important thing. I like to have a horizontal relationship with the group. It’s in line with my personality. I was an intense, productive player, but always in line with what is possible to produce as a group. Now I need to translate this energy, know how to transmit it. What’s encouraging is that the potential of the Huskies is high.
BTVF: What are the areas you think you need to work on? What will be the frequency of training sessions?
B.M.: We will work on everything. Baseball is a « total » sport in the sense that it requires a lot mentally and physically. I also think especially about the small details that make the difference. And that can change everything at the highest level. Most of our players train in our academy every day. Team training sessions are on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. But that’s extendable ..!
BTVF: What does the transition from « key player » to coach inspire in you? How do you feel about this new perspective?
B.M.: I’ve always had in mind that I would coach one day and it’s a privilege to coach a team like ours. As I’ve already explained, the Huskies embody my intimate connection with baseball. It’s a powerful bond. I’m very lucky. Passing on knowledge is an incomparable gain.
BTVF: Have you heard about new signings for the upcoming season?
B.M.: We’ve been working on recruitment for a few months and it’s going well.
Who will assist you? What are the goals for 2022?
B.M.: I will be assisted by Arthur Paturel, Yoann Vaugelade, Luc Piquet, Quentin Becquey, and Jeremy Dubois on the field. Off the field by all the members of the club’s board and especially by Sylvain.
I also plan to rely on our former managers, I have a lot to learn!
Statements collected by Vincent Picard.
Below, « the Pack » under the sun of one of their great victories
