Interview with Daria Krupińska from Panthers Softball

How do you rate 2021 in terms of sports and what are your expectations for the 2022 season?

We managed to defend the Polish Champion and presented ourselves very well at the European Cup, where we took second place, which was historic for the Polish club. It is a pity that we did not manage to defend the Polish Cup, which the team from Żory deservedly won in the season of 2021.

Does the 2022 season mean changes for you, what brings the next year ??

The 2022 season will be completely different for us than the previous two. New coach, new team composition, mainly caused by numerous injuries in our team, it is also difficult for us to define our form. Of course, we always fight to win the game, but we know that this season is going to be tougher, among other things, because of these changes.

You mentioned the new coach of your section, information about him has recently appeared in the media, how do you feel after the first training sessions together?

The girls are very pleased with the joint work with coach Łukasz, these are still our beginnings, so we will have to wait a while for the results and assessments.

Which players who are already known to the fans will we see again on the pitch this season? Has anyone joined the ranks, will we see some new faces?

Last year we didn't have the opportunity to recruit so most of the girls are already known by our fans from last season. Unfortunately, we are unlikely to see our top players from last season this year: Ania Culic (due to an injury), Żelisława Śliwa, Aleksandra Zielińska (received an offer to play in the prestigious Italian league) and Maja Zmyślona.

Our girls are also the backbone of the Polish national team in softball. What are the upcoming plans of the Polish team?

This year, the Polish senior national team will take part in the European Championships in Spain, ten players have been appointed from our club to the wide team. Some of them made their debut in the national team last year and most of them can already be said to be veterans with over ten years of experience.

There is also a junior section in the club, which you train. Can we still join the squad?

We have open recruitment for our junior sections all the time due to the fact that these are the beginnings of its existence and all willing girls aged 12-18 are welcome to contact us, preferably through our Social Media.

What do you expect from the girls this season? Do you have any sports goals?

We treat this season more progressively for our players with less experience, we are preparing mainly for the European Cup with the hope to improve last year's result.

This weekend you will face the teams of Gepardy Żory, Lions Kutno and Warsaw Diamonds in the PLSK II tournament, how is your attitude? How do you rate your opponents?

This will be our first tournament with a new line-up and a new coach, we know about some reinforcements in Warsaw Diamonds, which seem to be the main contenders for the champion, but time will also show what will happen. The other teams, including us, must not be underestimated for sure.

When will you play these games and how can we watch them, also do we need a ticket for the games?

We are playing the first tournament this weekend (April, 23-24) on the new pitch in Zakrzów (Niepodległości 6) and we invite all our fans, matches are not ticketed.

Finally, tell us how you would encourage the fans to come and cheer for our team.

Softball is a very dynamic and effective sport, especially once you know the rules, you can definitely count on even matches full of emotions. What encourages me most, however, to watch softball matches is a friendly, picnic, family atmosphere during tournaments, so we invite you with whole families, you will not be disappointed.