At the beginning of July the Great Britain U-12s, coached by Lee Manning, made the short ferry trip across the English Channel to compete in Pool A of the WBSC European Championships in Évry, France.
Having been promoted alongside Spain from Pool B in 2025, the squad, which consisted of 15 GB debutants, knew the tournament was going to be a tough challenge as they faced some of Europe’s biggest baseball nations.
On the first morning of their trip, the U-12s watched a local game as the Huskies de Rouen took on the Pirates de Béziers. The boys were welcomed onto the field after the game by the visiting Pirates, who had met the team at the hotel the previous evening.
The special moments kept coming as, later that day, the team received their GB caps in front of the Eiffel Tower.
The tournament kicked off on Monday with an opening ceremony, which included a good luck message for the GB youngsters from New York Yankees and Great Britain pitcher Brendan Beck.
GB opened their European Championships campaign against the hosts, France. Kaiser Ames became the first GB player to score at the tournament, but the experience of the French side proved too much over five innings as they claimed a 17-6 victory.
Game two saw the U-12s face eventual runners-up and European powerhouse Czechia. The Czech side completed the game in four innings with a 23-0 victory.
The final round-robin game was against eventual champions Germany. Once again, GB struggled against the quality and experience of their opponents, falling to a 16-1 defeat, with Ethan Watts scoring GB’s only run.
As the tournament moved into the second round, GB faced Belgium. Despite conceding five runs in the second inning, GB kept the opposition scoreless across the other four innings. Kaiser Ames scored a consolation run in the sixth as Belgium secured a 5-1 win.
Due to a red weather advisory later in the day, Saturday’s scheduled game against Spain was initially removed from the fixture list to allow the finals to begin earlier. Head coach Lee Manning fought for his players to have one final outing before heading home, and it was agreed the Spain game would instead be played as a “friendship game”. Despite another defeat, the team delivered another encouraging performance before eventually losing 6-2.
Throughout the week, GB earned praise from their opponents for their attitude in defeat and their commitment to developing as players.
Head Coach Lee Manning was incredibly proud of the squad and looks forward to the future:
“While the results may not have gone our way, this tournament was about much more than wins and losses.
“Fifteen young athletes proudly pulled on a Great Britain jersey for the very first time, gaining invaluable international experience, developing as baseball players and creating friendships and memories that will stay with them for years to come.
“Every player and member of staff has learned from this experience, and we will use those lessons to continue building.
“The foundations have been laid, and I’m excited about what this group can achieve when we return to the European Championships next year.
“I would like to thank our players for their commitment, resilience and outstanding attitude throughout the tournament, our parents for their incredible support both before and during the competition, and the wider GB programme and the BBF for their continued belief in what we’re building.
“Finally, a heartfelt thank you to my coaching staff, whose professionalism, passion and tireless dedication to the development of these young athletes made this journey possible.”