Returning Eagles keen to arrest slide

Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday February 7, 2017 15:06

The last time the team played in the softball league was in 2005.

 Eagles played league giants in Police IX on Friday at the National Diamond in Gaborone with the women’s side suffering a 17-0 loss while their male counterparts were not spared in 11-0 beating.

Despite the pummelling, Eagles coach, Latzbon Segaisi is confident after what he saw over the weekend. He told Mmegi Sport yesterday that the result was an indication that they were doing something to turn around the fortunes at the club. He said losing with such a narrow margin to a strong side like Police IX is a positive thing.

“I played with new players over the weekend. They played well and made it difficult for Police to execute their game plan. My approach was different from the way we have always played,” he said.

Segaisi said he believes in development and he was involved in the softball Re Ba Bona Ha project. He advised that clubs should avoid recruiting players from other clubs but instead focus on developing their own. He said it was high time Botswana Softball Association (BSA) came up with a rule that barred clubs from poaching players from other clubs.

 Segaisi said his side comprises players who have never played in the league before but the way they are playing at the moment is an indication that they are adapting. He said other players joined Eagles from other clubs where they did not get game time. He pointed out that clubs with resources especially institutional clubs attract top players and with such a pool it is difficult to play all of them.

 He said even if they do not make it to the top eight by end of the season, they expect to finish in a better position.

Segaisi said even in the past, Eagles were a side that concentrated on developing players. He said it was unfortunate because they had to start from scratch every season as clubs recruited their players. Other weekend results for matches played at National Diamond

Men: Gatalamotho 16-0 Blue Angels, Wells 14-5 Panthers, Panthers 7-4 Gatalamotho, Blue Angels 5-3 Gideon Warriors, Vikings 7-0 Dinare

Women: Wells 10-9 Panthers, Dinare 6-0 Vikings

Games scheduled for Lobatse were cancelled due to the heavy rains.