« After the rain comes sunshine. » That’s the sentiment among the management, coaches, players, and fans of the Savigny Lions, five-time French champions.
Finishing 3rd in Pool B this season, the Lions narrowly missed out on the playoffs. With a record of 17-7, it was a close call. In fact, looking at the overall statistics by category for the 2023 season available on the FFBS website, you realize that the Lions lead in a significant number of them, or at least they’re on the podium. While stats have their limits and aren’t a guarantee of success, this bodes well for the future of the Essonne club.
Ivan Acuña, the future coach of the Lions for the upcoming season, took a few minutes to reflect on the past season while he’s currently recharging in the sun, in his home country of Venezuela.
BTVF: How do you assess your season?
We’re obviously disappointed, but we did what we could. Ultimately, we still have reasons to be satisfied, like our victory over the Barracudas, the future French champions. In fact, it was the matches against the Templiers de Sénart that cost us dearly. There are things to improve, but we already have a solid foundation to build on.
BTVF: What objectives did you achieve and which ones did you fall short of?
Very clearly, we wanted to make the playoffs, and we didn’t achieve that. As for achieved objectives, I’d say we played well overall, there were really interesting things in terms of gameplay. But we need to do more to take that next step and avoid the disappointment of the 2023 season.
BTVF: Will the introduction of the JFL (Locally Trained Players) requirement impact your strategy?
For us, it won’t make any difference; we already have plenty of local players. But it’s an excellent thing to offer young players in the area the opportunity to play for the best French clubs. Here, the players work hard and are already in the senior team. However, we need to be careful with the pitchers, having enough players for the championship, but as for Savigny, the number of foreign players won’t change.
BTVF: Personally, how do you feel as the new season approaches?
I feel good, very good even. I’m being given responsibilities: this year, I’ll be a player-manager. We’ve already started working, and I must say I’m happy with what we’ve done in terms of objectives this winter. Being a player-manager means more responsibilities and more crucial decisions, but it’s an exciting project, and I’m determined to make it a success.
BTVF: What are the priority projects for the upcoming season (infrastructure, senior team objectives, etc.)?
There won’t be any major changes for the upcoming season. What we want most is a baseball field in Savigny. The town hall is talking about 2025; I hope it happens, as we’ve been waiting for several seasons now! Unfortunately, we don’t control that; it’s not up to us. And yet, it’s so important, for everyone! For the young players, it gives them the opportunity to come and watch the first team play, the same for the supporters. Seeing a crowd in the stadium, hearing them cheer us on, it’s not the same experience in a stadium that’s not a real baseball stadium. We want to experience that in Savigny! As for the sporting side, the ideal objective would be to win the championship, but to achieve it, we need to put things in order and implement them properly. We have qualities to showcase in this championship, we have experience, we have a competitive roster, so there’s no reason it shouldn’t work if we do things right.
BTVF: What can we wish you for this year?
Health! That’s the most important thing! If health is there, the rest will follow.
Sébastien DONDE
Club website: here
Photo credits: club’s Facebook page and website.
