ILLAM junior girls train hard for Little League World Series

MANILA, Philippines - The Illam Junior girls grunt breathlessly as they jog back and forth between bases at the Rosario softball field, kicking up dust with their mud- stained cleats.

All sweaty and disheveled after yet another Saturday practice game at the Pasig ball field, the 13-15 year old softball amazons hunker down on the grass for their post practice regimen: push ups, crunches, the “superman” back-strengthening pose and finally the cooling down stretches.

They’ve just completed three hours of skills practice in the morning and a seven-inning game with a collegiate team. Grueling? These girls, after all, make up the team that won the Philippine National Softball Series (Juniors bracket: 13-15 years) in April and clinched the Asia Pacific Regional Championship in Guam last June.

This is their second practice game with the RTU college softball team. They lost 4-2 to RTU the previous week where they struggled to score against the RTU pitcher’s fast curveballs.

For the past six months, coaches Alex Causapin and Jesse Viray have been putting the girls through a rigid training routine –strengthening exercises, weights, elastics, plyometrics, aerobics –  all designed to increase stamina, add power to their throws, speed to their runs and distance to their batting.

Game plays are drilled over and over. Left and right hand bunts are rehearsed. Batting is practiced against college pitchers who throw the ball with greater velocity than high school players.

The girls are training religiously for the “holy grail” of youth softbal –the Junior League World Series Softball tournamentset Aug. 16-23 in Kirkland, Washington.

The Illam Junior Girls come from Assumption, Holy Spirit, Immaculate Conception Academy, International School Manila, Miriam College, and Reedley International School. World Series veterans are Czarina Buenviaje, infield; DC Cruz, infield; Ines Diaz, pitcher/infield; Lyriel Gonzales, pitcher/infield; Sella Mendoza, infield/outfield; Julz Ocampo, outfield; Toni Ondrik, outfield/catcher; Robbie Recto, outfield; and Mei Uy, pitcher/infield. The newbies are: Denise Cruz, outfield; DL Lino, outfield; Sam Sarda, catcher; and Ella Uichico, outfield.