Sorenson mum on future as coach
Mark Sorenson will delay any decision on his Black Sox coaching future until after the World Cup – and a duel with an Argentinian coach he roomed with in the United States almost 20 years ago.
Sorenson and Julio Garmaci, who coached Argentina to their first world title in 2019, were team-mates on a Black Sox-stacked County Materials team in Wisconsin in 2003-04.
‘‘We lived together in America and played on the same team. Heumul Mata, the ace [pitcher] on the [current] Argentina team, his brother Lucas, and Juli played with me, Thomas [Makea], Brad [Rona], Donny Hale . . . we had a lot of fun together.’’
The pair will be in opposite dugouts at the World Cup – starting today in Auckland – and have been pitting their wits against each other as world championship head coaches since 2015.
Garmaci was a star-struck catcher at County Materials when he found himself living and playing with Sorenson and the other Black Sox greats.
‘‘It was a great, great time,’’ he said in Auckland yesterday. ‘‘I learned a lot from him [Sorenson].
‘‘I learned much much more than I knew I was learning. That helped us [Argentina] to earn the first bronze medal at the Pan American Games.’’
It’s all been upwards and onwards from there for Argentina and Garmaci, who guided his country to two junior world titles in 2012 and 2014 before taking over the senior team.
His and Sorenson’s rivalry will continue on Monday when the Black Sox host Argentina at Auckland’s Rosedale Park in a game that could go a long way to determining the winner of Pool A.
Sorenson is in his 10th year as Black Sox coach and helming his fourth World Cup campaign, but is not confirming it will be his last.
‘‘You then start looking at it in a different way,’’ he said. ‘‘I want to be all in here, I don’t want to be all in because it’s my last one.
‘‘I want to be all in for the right reasons, and then we’ll assess things afterwards.’’
Meanwhile, the Black Sox playing group has been cleared of Covid-19 on the eve of the World Cup despite a management team member testing positive earlier this week.
The unnamed official was sent home to isolate and Black Sox management tested the players daily as a precaution.
Black Sox manager Casey Eden yesterday reported that all players tested negative on Thursday and ‘‘all passed again today’’.