Claudia “all sports” – Juventud Rebelde

OLGIN. — As she entered adulthood, Claudia Lores found more meaning in what her mother told her about the restless and smiling girl who would become an athlete. There were wrestlers, boxers and gymnasts in his family, so he eventually became an athlete like his aunts and uncles. It is due to the sport, and he claims that if he were born again, he would insist on practicing it.

The face of the 24-year-old reveals someone who is exposed to the new and gives away his talent in a game, hand links or kicks from the goal. The versatile third-year Bachelor of Physical Education student is eyeing a chance to go to a second World Championships date, albeit in a different discipline to the one that earned her a place in the national team.

He came to softball, which he became famous for in Holguín, in the sports area of ​​Pueblo Nuevo, in the main municipality: «From there I went to train at the Feliú Leyva field and after about a year I was promoted to EIDE Pedro Díaz Coelo, in the sixth grade. This was the beginning of my sports life, in which I began to distinguish sports more specifically, because in my childhood I was very active and played ball with my neighbors. I had ideas, but little by little I learned the technique of softball.

“In the smaller categories, I participated in national championships until I was promoted to the senior squad. Holguin is strong among the country’s competitors and I took medals from the youth stage where I did it at the same time as the senior stage for a while. This year I would like to contribute to the return of my province to the elite of Cuba and for that it is possible to return with the women of Holguín, as a short stop, in the playoff next October».

They started her at EIDE as a pitcher and then in the provincials they tried her in the outfield, although she ended up as an infielder, almost always at shortstop, combining with star Maylín Sánchez, who was in charge of the middle infielder.

“My leap into baseball happened because I realized that women were getting into it and I wanted to have another experience in a discipline that I really enjoyed. There was still no women’s ball in the countryside. So, with the help of friends in Las Tunas, I went to train there, although soon a group from Holguín was formed and I returned to attend a first-class national event in Camagüey”, also points out the professor of the Pueblo Nuevo sports team.

The last discipline he included in his sports career was football. Photo: Nelson Rodriguez Roque

After the “turn” to balls and strikes from the mound, she was called up to the national pre-selection and had a hat-trick against the Canadians in Havana, which gave way to another call-up with a view to the World Cup in Florida, USA (2018), for a two-stage preparation: “Luckily I made the team and went in my first international competition where I played third base. I saw another baseball with high craftsmanship and skill. My teammates and I are fueled by these virtues of other baseball players.

“We appreciate punching forms that are not acquired overnight, but can be mastered with practice. Defensive systems, of equal quality, we evaluated in the innings to cover bases or communicate during games; sometimes a look said everything and there was a connection. I have never ruled out baseball, I still have the ability and desire to wear the uniform of my country.

Professor Alfredo Martinez took her to Baseball5, who recorded her in Guantanamo Bay. On the first day he intended to leave; Martinez held on, despite the fact that Claudia Lores said it wasn’t for her, that her thing was between the bats and the gloves.

“This sport requires a lot of consistency – he specifies – it is characterized by its tactics and when played in a mixed way, the improvement of each athlete is not canceled. Another element that makes it up is concentration, if you don’t focus things go wrong. Boys hit the ball hard and therefore the team must have girls who excel in defense. The people of Santiago communicated with me and I strengthened them in a national final in which I stood out”.

“In the Holgin zone, we Holgin won the ticket to the 2022 final stage which was held in Sancti Spiritus a few days ago and we were the bronze medalists. COVID-19 and its complications derailed a competition in Mexico when it was already included in the national pre-selection. However, in November the first World Cup will be held there and if I am ratified as pre-selected I will aim to attend. In addition, this year I directed the youth baseball representative from Holgin 5, which if we continue to work with, we will have a safe transmission,” he says.

Claudia Lores, a world champion baseball player, sees herself with the opportunity to attend another world event in another sport. Photo: Carlos Rafael Diaz

At the end of August, the “women’s orchestra” finished the National Football League, as part of the province’s eleven (third in the Eastern Group). “We have been waiting in training for the inclusion of our goalkeeper, although she could not join us and coach David Bahuelos, given the proximity of the fair and my excitement about the goal, decided that I would remain in that role.

“I, who had only played football in the neighborhood park, thought that as a defender I had a chance to go to the league, but I ended up under the three pillars and trained hard, supported by colleagues who come from EIDE or the national squads, I developed from your rookie status. There were goals scored against me where my inexperience prevented me from saving them. In my opinion, we had an enviable tournament and we started to get used to each other».