If you wander through the forest of Brocéliande, you might encounter Merlin the Enchanter, the fairies Viviane and Morgane, or even Lancelot… but you’re more likely to cross paths with a black panther, the French baseball champion.
Indeed, just a few kilometers east of the forest of Paimpont, the team from Bréal-sous-Montfort has just been crowned the French D3 champion. After 2016, the Breton club is set to experience its second promotion to D2, following a season masterfully dominated from start to finish.
Assigned to Pool C, alongside the Squales de Vauréal and the Wallabies de Louviers, the Black Panthers staked their claim: 5 wins for just one loss (victories 28-0, 12-3, and 12-5 against Louviers; victories 16-7 and 4-1, with a single defeat 12-14 against Vauréal).
In the playoffs, the hunt continued, and this time, the Renards de la Vallée du Gapeau were on the menu (victory 20-10). Finally, in the finals, the Panthers were hungry and, with surgical swings of their bats, they made short work of the Expos d’Ermont (victory 13-0).
Yes, Bréal-sous-Montfort is back in the second national division, barely a year after their relegation, and this time, they plan to stay and add a new chapter to their legend.
Interview with Erwan Godet, Sports Manager of the Black Panthers:
BTVF: Can you introduce yourself and the club?
The club has existed since 1989. It all started with a group of friends, around ten years old (including me), who, after a trip to England, decided to play baseball. At first, without any structure, just for fun, for a year and a half, until 1989. Then, thanks to our parents who stepped up, we were able to create and structure the club (the parents took on the roles of president, secretary, treasurer). In 1990, coinciding with the creation of the Brittany Baseball League, the Black Panthers played their first championship.
For ten years, there were few members, a maximum of 30 or 40, on a meadow lent to us by the mayor of Bréal. The softball team was created in 1992 with motivated girls. Today, we have around a hundred members; we’ve organized inter-league matches since 2001. As for the baseball field, it now has lighting, locker rooms, a scorekeeper’s booth…
The name Black Panthers was chosen to sound American and as a tribute to the civil rights movement.
(Editor’s note: The Black Panther movement was a revolutionary Afro-American liberation movement born in the 1960s from a context of mobilization and riots for civil rights against socio-economic inequalities between Blacks and Whites, the waning of the pacifist movement led by Martin Luther King, the rise of decolonization in Third World countries, etc.)
As for me, I obviously started as a player, then I began coaching in 1992. I was an employee of the CD 35 (Departmental Committee) of baseball/softball, and treasurer of the Brittany League.
BTVF: What ingredients allowed you to achieve such a season?
Luck!! But above all, a lot of hard work and young players with talent, who have been playing together for a long time, the joy of wearing the club’s uniform.
It’s true that this season was fully satisfying: the Senior teams champions of D3 and regional champions, the U12 and U15 teams vice-champions of Brittany, and the U15s just won a tournament organized this weekend. And then the club has many volunteers, parents who invest themselves. Club life is rich with many moments: evenings among members, organization of events (like a garage sale) which is a good way to finance but requires about forty volunteers, many tournaments that contribute to the success of the club, and a great quality of coaching composed of experienced people.
BTVF: How do you differentiate yourselves from other Breton clubs?
We focus primarily on local talent, in terms of recruitment and training. The players are from Bréal and the surrounding area; we must train young players to constantly renew the roster.
Last year, the season was complicated; many players left, and the young ones had to step up. Unfortunately, the season ended with a relegation. But to develop this sport, you have to invest in an educational and territorial project.
BTVF: What is the place of baseball/softball in the Brittany region?
We can’t compete with football and rugby, but we hold our own with our educational project, which isn’t just focused on competition and performance but on team spirit. The League has sixteen clubs; Bréal maintains good relations with the Department and Regional officials. My responsibilities at the Departmental Committee and the League have allowed me to know and work with Yannick Pasquer, the President of the Brittany League.
BTVF: What are the club’s next objectives?
There’s no precise roadmap. We want to sustain our volunteer resources, keep our young teams performing, have quality coaching. It’s also important to preserve and strengthen what we’ve achieved. Now that we’re back in D2, we want to stay there for several years and perform. D2 is a way to motivate the players, but it’s not an end in itself. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.
And then, we’d like to improve the facilities, especially have stands; we have around 100 or 150 spectators at each match, and renew the infield.
Sébastien Dondé
With the kind participation of Erwan Godet for the photos.
