The New Zealand junior men’s softball team will be stacked with West Aucklanders when it competes in the Softball Australia International Youth Cup in Sydney.
Bradley Bennett, Connor Peden, Eru Drage, Blake Radford, Maddox Rice and Callum Elson make up the West Auckland contingent with coach David Reyland from Te Atatu South pulling the strings for his second consecutive year at the helm.
Reyland says the six West Aucklanders in the side work well together because they’ve played together on many occasions.
“We’re really excited, this team is stronger than last year when we competed in Australia and we are training really well,” Reyland says.
On the 2011 tour the juniors lost to Australia Green, the under-19s, in the final.
“We caught them a little by surprise last year when we made the final but they’ll be waiting for us this time around,” Reyland says.
Outfielder Bradley Bennett is only 15 but knows what to expect from the competition.
“Being involved in last year’s tournament I’ve got high expectations of myself and the team.
“Playing amongst the older guys last year was an amazing experience and I learned a lot.”
This year’s tournament includes men’s and women’s divisions. The New Zealand junior women’s development team will take part. Both sides will play seven regional and national Australian sides with the top four teams going through to the semifinals after round robin play.
Catcher Connor Peden also played in the 2011 tournament and is looking forward to playing with a lot of familiar faces.
“Given the opportunity to play with your mates you definitely have a high level of trust. We’re definitely looking to win it,” he says.
The boys are focused on the job at hand but are also thinking ahead to the 2014 junior world championships in Canada. Reyland says: “We’re all very focused on making the Junior Black Socks side for that tournament. I’m aiming to be the coach of that side and every single squad member wants to be there also. This is our opportunity to impress.”
The team heads to Sydney tomorrow and the tournament runs from July 2-6.