Conor Myles has loved his baseball journey so far, from playing with his beloved Cheltenham Rustlers to training with Baseball Victoria Aces Academy. He even earned U18 Most Valuable Player and Hitting Champion honors as part of Victoria Blue at the 2019 Australian Youth Championship.
After taking out a national title with his fellow Victorian State Team reps, winning a VSBL Division 2 Premiership with Cheltenham, and donning the green and gold for Team Australia's U18 World Cup run in 2018, Myles is ready for the next chapter: college baseball at Odessa Community College in Texas.
"I’m most excited about being able to swing tin bats again and meeting new people and new cultures around the sport," Myles said.
A strict regime of daily baseball training, gym sessions, and bullpens/longtoss has helped him prepare for the next level of play, with lifting also making a big difference in his sports and conditioning development.
"Lifting has helped a huge amount," Myles said. "Not only does it help develop a stronger swing making you hit the ball further and throw harder, it is also a massive conditioning help allowing the body to endure maximum intent for a longer duration with less injury chance."
There's been no shortage of inspiring players to help him along the way, from his first few seasons all the way to playing on the national and even international stage.
"Players I look up to would have to be guys like Darryl George," Myles said. "Being able to hang around the Aces dugout helped me learn so much mentally about the game that I didn’t even realise before and greatly benefited me and my career."
Although he knows he will miss his family, friends, and club community, it will be worth it. His advice for players who want to go on to college baseball is to work as hard as possible while still enjoying every opportunity.
"If you think you’re working hard, just know that there will always be someone working harder than you," Myles said. "It may not be anyone from Australia, but once you cross the border into international baseball it’s a completely different ballgame."