Stephanie Küpers appointed as Germany U-18 Women's National Softball Team head coach
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<p>Stephanie Küpers has been named head coach of the German U-18 Women's National Softball Team. The 55-year-old coach will aim to improve the 10th-place finish in the European Championship last year and compete for a spot in the World Cup.</p>
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<p>Küpers, who takes over the head coach position from Udo Dehmel, said she is looking forward to the new challenge with great anticipation: "It is exciting to see how the players that we introduced to the national team at the U15 develop and mature," she said. </p>
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<p>German Baseball and Softball Federation (DBV) Vice President Softball Nicole Broziewski acknowledged Küpers' experience with German softball was a key factor in her appointment. "Steffi has been on the coaching staff of the German softball national teams for 20 years now. Through her tireless efforts, she has brought German softball to where it is now. Therefore, I am very pleased that in addition to the U15, she is now also taking over the U18 national softball team as head coach. I appreciate Steffi as a professionally competent and empathetic person and know that she will fulfil this challenge very well."</p>
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<p>Küpers has been involved with the German national teams since 2002, when she took a coaching position for the first time. She worked as an assistant coach from 2002 to 2006 for the U-23, from 2006 to 2023 for the U-19/U-18 team and from 2009 to 2011 for the U-16 team. In 2012, she was promoted to head coach of the U-16/U-15 national team.</p>
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<p>Germany is currently ranked No. 19 in the <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://rankings.wbsc.org/en/list/softball/women" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="WBSC/KONAMI Women's Softball World Ranking (opens in a new tab)">WBSC/KONAMI Women's Softball World Ranking</a></span></strong> with 646 points. Their highest position ever in the global ranking has been No. 15 from December 2022 to April 2023.</p>
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