Australian Schoolboys Invitational Tour 2016
Kingsley Collins
10 May 2016
Following completion of another outstanding National Schoolboys tournament that was held in Perth last week, Australian Baseball Alumni can confirm the selection of a squad that will tour United States in September and October of this year.
The three-week tour will be another challenging event for all concerned, with nineteen games to be played against a mix of junior college, four-year college and high school All-Star teams spanning Oregon, Washington State, California and Arizona.
As with previous tours held in 2009, 2011 and 2014, the emphasis will be on giving the players a great sporting experience and a memorable life experience whilst creating potential college or even professional baseball opportunities for a group of young men, most of whom will be eligible for selection in the 2017 Under 18 World Cup.
Supported and endorsed by Baseball Australia, the Australian Schoolboys International Tour offers a unique and exciting opportunity for twenty of our emerging young baseball players selected after their performances at the recently concluded national championship that was won by host state Western Australia.
The squad will be prepared and accompanied by an experienced and professional staff comprising Peter Giles (Head Coach), Chris Norrie (Assistant Coach), Kevin Hooker (Pitching Coach), Brendon Wallace (Assistant Coach/Sports Trainer) and Tour Manager Neil Barrowcliff, who encapsulated the worth of the touring project this way:
“Our goal is to try and replicate the life of a college or professional player with games played almost every day, plus a large amount of travel,” he said. “We believe that this has proven extremely beneficial as – from our previous three tours – forty five out of a possible fifty five players are now playing either college or pro ball in United States.”
“In addition, this tour has also proved to be a stepping stone to further national team representation, with ten out of thirteen eligible players from the 2014 tour participating in the Under 18 World Cup in 2015.”
The squad – which is listed below - will depart from Sydney on Thursday 15 September and will return on Saturday 8 October.
Aside from playing nineteen baseball games, the Australian contingent will be attending two Major League games in Phoenix Arizona, a Major League game in San Diego, Disneyland and a United States gridiron game between Oregon State and Boise State.
Australian Baseball Alumni extends its congratulations to the twenty young men who have been selected on the Australian Schoolboys squad for 2016. We wish each and every person all the very best for a fantastic tour and we look forward to regularly reporting on your progress with the assistance of management staff and accompanying personnel.
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL SCHOOLBOYS ROSTER 2016
Jacob AMOS
Josh BEDGGOOD
Ulrich BOJARSKI
Will DAY
Josh DIGGINS
Harry FULLERTON
Cooper GOODMAN
Alex HALL
Oliver HOWITT
Duane JOHANNSEN
Sam KIMMORLEY
Conor LAVERTY
Matthew MARTINSON
Jack O'LOUGHLIN
Josh ROBINS
Jack TAYLOR
Ben TSUI
Luke TURNER
Jess WILLIAMS
Maclain WILSON
Peter GILES
Chris NORRIE
Kevin HOOKER
Brendon WALLACE
Neil BARROWCLIFF
New South Wales
Queensland
Western Australia
Victoria
Western Australia
New South Wales
Victoria
Western Australia
New South Wales
Queensland
Australian Capital Territory
Queensland
New South Wales
South Australia
New South Wales
Western Australia
New South Wales
Queensland
Western Australia
Western Australia
Head Coach
Assistant Coach
Pitching Coach
Assistant Coach/Trainer
Tour Manager
Image: 2014 National Schoolboys Tour