An 11-year-old boy shines in a forgotten sport

It was difficult to imagine six years ago what he already achieved Tiziano Monge. He arrived at the club and started dragging the paddle. The boy turned five years old that day when his brother Lautaro took him to the Frontón Tucumán, the club on España 153, which has been, since 1915, next to his house. Formally, the young man born on August 12 had his encounter with the sport that captivated him: pelota paddle or Basque pelota. “When I saw him I thought: ‘he’s going to play better than me,’” Lautaro laughingly recalled that first impression he had of his little brother in pelotari mode (a person whose job it is to play ball on a fronton).

Lautaro was amazed by what happened in November 2023, even though he had a perception that “Tity” had what it took to dominate the game. Monge, at age 11, competed in his first tournament and started off in a big way, playing an Argentinian. He did not occupy podium positions, but he stood out, he made an impact without lifting a trophy: he was chosen as the “Revelation Player” in the Argentino de Frontón de Rosario. “It’s difficult to improve in Tucumán, that’s why I didn’t imagine they would give him that recognition,” explained Monge’s brother, who is sometimes his coach as well.

The “difficult to improve” means that Tiziano does not have players of his age or level. In Tucumán there is no regular tournament, except for the occasional internal competition in the clubs. Monge also does not have the appropriate logistics to develop the potential of the talent he has. The Argentine Pelota Confederation (CAP) described “Tity” on social networks when awarding him. “From Tucumán, specifically from the Frontón Tucumán, this young promise of Argentine baseball was born,” you can read on Facebook.

“I prefer to stay with Mateo. “He helped me play well,” Monge responded when asked about the reasons he believed had earned him the recognition. Mateo is his partner. In his analysis, the fact that he was the most outstanding player in the tournament is due to the fact that the man from Jujuy made him shine. This is one of the complexities of paddle ball: finding a good partner.

Monge defines himself as a natural forward. He likes to have the responsibility of winning the point. Of the two positions, he is the one who has the least intervention during the point, but when the forward intervenes he has to kill the ball. That’s what “Tity” has that attracts to such an extent that the club’s players want to team up with the little guy whose silhouette becomes smaller when some thirty-somethings almost three times his height play with him.

Monge’s game display is so typical of high performance that Cynthia Pinto, the double gold medalist at the Pan American Games, trains with him on several occasions. “I would like to be a professional and win medals like her,” she anticipated what she wants from her future. “He is very skilled, he hits with both hands. He has more than enough conditions to be a good player,” Pinto assured that, like the majority of Argentine athletes, he suffered, suffers and – apparently – will suffer from the lack of support from all areas. “I see that we have to help him. The club has to invest in him,” advised “Popi.” Although he receives a valuable contribution of elements to practice the sport, Monge is in a time in which perfecting himself requires travel and advice. “Tity” does not have a coach, his brother Lautaro accompanies him and is more than anything a talented self-taught person.

“I train alone. But I prefer to have a coach because I learn tactics,” he said. Those who know the sixth grade student at the Bartolomé Miter School say they see him play until he’s tired every day. “I’m a soccer fan, but I prefer the paddle ball because I have it closer to play,” said Monge. He has sport so close at hand that, from the club’s open court, he points out: “the wall over there is my house.”

That geographical practicality is also a powerful reason why Basque pelota beat much more popular and more chosen sports at its early age. Neither football, nor rugby, nor basketball managed to enter the individual universe of “Tity” who does not depend on anything, nor anyone: he feels fulfilled on the open field or on the trinquet (closed field) of the Frontón Tucumán. The little black ball, the palette, the walls are available and so is he. “Yes, the older ones want to play with me. I beat some of them,” he explained. His friends who are not involved in sports look strangely when Monge says that he plays pelota or Basque pelota. “They don’t know him,” he said flatly.

That is why “Tity” is particularly striking, because sports development is not in line with its environment. There is other success. “He has a great love for the palette. He enters the court, practices alone when kids his age aren’t there. No matter hot or cold she is in ratchet. He went to other fields and it didn’t bother him,” he highlighted. Carlos Sanchez, amateur pelota player, almost a sports godfather of Monge. “He is already a champion,” he praised. Everything indicates that “Tity” does not want to be king without a crown, that is why he will go look for it, with accompaniment it will be less complex for him.