The Malta Baseball & Softball Association (MABS) is in the unique position of being one association representing two sports. The fact that both baseball and softball have many similarities and uses similar equipment enables us to combine our technical and material resources to develop both sports simultaneously.

Both sports are played by both male and female players however; traditionally baseball has attracted mostly male players whilst softball has been attracting mainly female players.

MABS’ primary goal is to increase the awareness of baseball and softball in schools. This is done through annual seminars we offer to teachers and visits by both local and international coaches to various schools. Without a doubt, one of our main development activities has been the baseball and softball activity at Skola Sport. This activity is aimed at youths from 10 to 16 years of age. In February we will for the first time introduce Tee Ball.

Tee ball is the sport used to introduce young boys and girls to Baseball and Softball. In Baseball the ball is thrown from a overhead motion, in Softball the ball is thrown using an underhand motion but in Tee ball it is made even easier where the ball isn’t thrown at all but is placed on a stand which is called at ‘Tee’. This way it is easier to hit the ball and the fundamental skill of swinging a bat can be made much easier. The balls used in Tee ball are the same size as baseballs but are softer, making it even safer for young children.

The skill of ‘Batting’ is one of most difficult skills in any sport since you have a round bat and round ball with a contact area the size of a two cent coin. Then when the ball is thrown at different speeds and movements, hitting the ball gets even harder as the level of the game increases. Obviously the younger the player starts learning to hit the ball the easier it will be for him or her, especially if they choose to continue playing Baseball or Softball as they get older.

MABS has embarked on two ambitious goals in the coming two years. The first is the participation of the U21 National Team in the Baseball European Cup to be held in Italy during July 2006. The second will be the participation of the Womens National Team in the European Fastpitch Softball Championships 2007 to be held in Croatia.

As part of MABS’ ongoing development initiative, we have embarked on a program to upgrade and train new and existing coaches. On 1st February 2006 the Coaches Technical Committee started operating within MABS. This committee has the main responsibility of developing good quality coaches in both baseball and softball. The committee, with the help of Baseball Softball UK has already developed the criteria for obtaining the MABS coaching licence and the Syllabus for the three levels of coaching licences that will be issued.

All of the above is strongly supported by the Malta Olympic Committee who provides financial and technical assistance to our organisation.