Lily-Rose Bateman hardly suspected when she attended a softball session in Splott that she would make the Great Britain team and have the opportunity to play in Europe this summer!
A teenage girl from Tremorfa has an incredible opportunity to represent GB and her family has set up a GoFundMe page to help her raise the funds required to make her dream come true.
Inspired by the story, Inksplott caught up with Lily-Rose and her mam, Kelly Bateman, to find out more.
Inksplott: Hi Lily, thank you for being interviewed for Inksplott. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Lily: Hi, I’m Lily-Rose and I am 12 years old and I live in Tremorfa, Cardiff, and attend Willows High School. My best subject in school is English. My hobbies are softball, playing fortnite on my Xbox, reading Harry Potter books, watching anything Marvel related and TikTok.
Inksplott: You’ve been selected to play in Croatia and Italy to represent Great Britain at softball. Congratulations! Can you tell us a bit about softball?
Lily: Softball is a game very similar to baseball, played on a smaller diamond with a bigger ball. Only underhand pitches are permitted and there are 9 positions: pitcher, catcher, first base, second base, third base, short stop, left field, centre field and right field.
Inksplott: And how did you get interested in softball?
Lily: I got interested in softball by going to an 8 week Winter Wellness course at Boomerang. 2 of the weeks were softball sessions and I really enjoyed it. The Coach of the softball sessions kept doing sessions every Friday so I kept going every week.
Inksplott: How can Splott residents support you in achieving your dream? We understand that your mum has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to help you represent GB this summer.
Lily: Yes, my mum helped me to set it up. Splott residents can help support me in achieving my dream by sharing my GoFundMe page link and donating if they can. Every little helps.
Inksplott: What are your ambitions with softball?
Lily: I would like to continue representing my country through each age team, so right now, I am in U13’s, so next would be U15’s, U17’s then U21’s. Eventually, I would like to play professionally when I am older.
Inksplott: If anyone is interested in playing softball, what advice would you give them?
You: I would say to try and train as often as you can, either at home or going to your local park or field and go to every training session you can go to. Always try your best, but most importantly, have fun playing an awesome sport!
Inksplott: What’s your best story since you started playing?
Lily: My best story since I have started playing would have to be having the opportunity to play in my first international tournament in Italy last year, after only playing for 5 months. We didn’t win but we got better with every game we played, made some new friends and had loads of fun.
Inksplott: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Lily: I would just like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has already donated to my GoFundMe page and everyone who has liked and shared it.
Inksplott: Is there anything your mum would like to say?
Mum: I would just like to say how much it means that we have the support of the Splott community behind us! We wouldn’t be anywhere near our target right now if it wasn’t for a lot of you! I am so proud of the young sportswoman that my daughter is becoming! She has gained a lot of confidence, made so many new friends and has had some unbelievable opportunities through finding a sport that she truly loves. So, just to reiterate what Lily has said above, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has already shared, liked and donated to help my daughter achieve her dream! It truly does mean the world to us!
Inksplott: That’s great – thank you so much for the interview!
Lily-Rose is trying to raise £1,200 to take part in the tournament and has raised £542 so far. If you would like to support Lily-Rose in achieving her dream, please make a donation via the GoFundMe page by clicking here. The team leaves for the tournament on the 9th of August.
If you pop the word “Brecon” in the comments when making a donation, you will be entered into a raffle to win this painting, donated by a Splott resident to help Lily raise funds.
