The French women’s softball team delivered a remarkable performance at the 2024 European Championship held in Utrecht, Netherlands, from September 1st to 7th. The tournament brought together 22 national teams divided into six groups. Let’s recap.

Group Stage

The French team was placed in Group A alongside Denmark and Switzerland. They started the competition with a series of convincing victories, qualifying for the next phase with a strong record: 19 points scored and only one conceded.
The French team’s placement in Group X was more challenging: France finished fourth after two wins (against Germany and Austria) and three losses to the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Spain—a defeat too many that prevented the French from reaching the top 6 of the competition.

Classification Phase

With the goal of securing seventh place, the French team bounced back by dominating their opponents in the classification phase. The French team completed this phase with a perfect record of 5 wins and 0 losses, including impressive victories: 7-0 against Belgium and 11-1 against Ukraine.

A Powerful Offense and Solid Defense

Throughout their journey, the French team implemented a well-oiled strategy to outmaneuver their opponents: bunts and stolen bases to pressure the defense; patience at the plate, waiting for good pitches to hit and maximize the chances of base hits; strategic use of multiple pitchers to disrupt the timing of opposing batters, aggression on the bases… Overall, the strategy paid off when looking at the lopsided scores.

Mélissa Mayeux and Zoé Hines were invaluable in the offense, as they achieved the best ratios on the team for most statistics.
On the pitching side, the French pitchers showed great efficiency with very low ERAs and a high number of strikeouts. Each pitcher made an important contribution with individual performances that proved crucial throughout the competition.

Conclusion

Thanks to their efforts, the French team finished in 7th place out of 22 nations, with 10 matches, 7 wins, and 3 losses—a result that testifies to their determination and talent. This journey, though marked by some disappointments, shows the potential and constant progress of the team on the European stage. Congratulations to the French team for their performance and see you at the next Championship to aim even higher!

Interview with Céline LASSAIGNE, manager of the French women’s softball team:

BTVF: What is your overall feeling about the performance of the French team during this European Championship?

We are in 2024, and it has been 10 years of work with the Federation and the players since I took over the team. An important first step was taken in 2019 with a TQO (Olympic Qualification Tournament) by the previous generation. Today, this new generation is very promising; they are full of desire and ambition. The balance sheet of this European Championship is positive, as we leave with a record of 7 wins and 3 losses. But it is also and above all a bright future to look forward to.

BTVF: The series of three losses leaves some regrets…

The matches against the Czechs and the Dutch were tough. Now, after debriefing with the athletes, we lacked quality at the plate. They faced the best pitchers in Europe, or even the world, as we should not forget that they faced Veronika Pekova (Czech pitcher) and Eva Voortman (Dutch pitcher), who are both in Japan and are truly the best of the best in pitching. It’s a shame because, on the staff side, we knew these were the best pitchers in Europe or even the world, and yet it’s a shame that the girls did not capitalize on all the work, all the quality at the plate that had been developed at the start of the European Championship.

After that, Spain, it’s true that there was a lot of disappointment because the top 6 goal was not achieved. But it was clear for the collective that they had to rebuild and remobilize, refocus on the present moment, and that there was now another goal, which was the top 7. A top 7 achieved in style, by winning all of our matches in this second phase. There, the girls did well.

BTVF: Which aspects of the team’s play satisfied you the most?

On the positive side, we had real regularity and quality throughout our defense. A big strength was also our pitching staff of 4 pitchers, which allows us today to have depth, both in terms of quality and variety of our pitchers’ profiles, and which allows us today to compete with all the nations we faced. Another positive point, our offensive line-up, which is really solid, from the first to the ninth, and even beyond, as we really have offensive depth, and in general, we have quality! The 17 athletes who were present, it’s a joy for a coach! Breaking our heads to try to put the 9 who, in our opinion, are the best, it’s a rich person’s problem. Having 17 athletes at this level is really a luxury!

BTVF: How do you assess your team’s margin for improvement?

To be even more successful, we lack maturity. It’s a very young group; many come from the U22; we lack the maturity of a competition: on how to approach matches, how to manage wins and losses. We will really have to work on that. But it comes with experience. Then, we also need to develop and stabilize the self-confidence of each athlete in the long term. This confidence that even if at some point the team is struggling, or at least individually as an athlete I am struggling, I know that my past, my experience, allows me to draw from deep within myself. This will allow us to gain consistency and maintain this level of confidence throughout a competition.

BTVF: How do you envision the future of the French team? What are your short and medium-term goals?

The objectives for the future are set and specified by the team at the start of the season. The current projection is for the next four years and the 2028 Olympics in L.A. There will also be a European Championship in 2025 where the goal will be to reach the top 6 or even better if the group gains maturity and possibly qualify for the 2026 World Championship. Then, the big challenge will be in 2027 with a European Championship and clearly a top 6 aimed at participating in the TQO and securing a spot at the 2028 Olympics. Currently, the format of the Olympics is not determined, so if we stay with the old format, it’s 6 teams worldwide and only one spot for European or African teams. Now, since the format has not been officially released, we are waiting to see the format of the TQO to project ourselves a bit further.

BTVF: Sports like football or rugby have the means and preparation time as a group to implement game plans and have them assimilated by the players, a group dynamic, the creation of automatisms, etc. How do you do this work with the little time you have?

What is also important is to talk about training: at the pole, where now a large number of athletes in the national teams have passed and in which we manage to develop game systems that the players see every day. And it’s true that when arriving in the French team, the players have assimilated the tactics, they are automated and already integrated by the athletes. We have succeeded in developing confrontation, with the creation of the Super League; we see the players playing together and also against each other, and the fact of having these 3 teams formed, and each time different, really develops this cohesion. Understanding each other and developing this communication and game analysis.

BTVF: What do you think of the level of European selections currently?

Today, the European level has increased; it is becoming more and more complicated to enter this top 8, which is somehow also a bit of a holy grail in which we must enter at each competition. Each European Championship testifies to this. The Netherlands, at the World Championship, managed to challenge the best! So it really shows the increase in this European level. What we really notice are the physical qualities of all the athletes at this level, which are beginning to be really very, very high!

BTVF: Any final words?

Yes, thanks to the entire staff who works with me on a daily basis. Respect also to the daily investment and sacrifice made by our athletes. We are not a professional sport, and I know that on a daily basis, it is not easy. Whether they are students or have a job, we must not forget all this investment. To reconcile this and have this high-level career, you really need to love the jersey!

Thank you, Céline, for the time given.
Sébastien DONDE.

Photo credits: Instagram and the website of the FFBS.
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