Reece Coles is a part of history as the first team from the Australia Region to qualify for the Intermediate World Series, and he's taking you behind the scenes of the Northern Metros journey to Livermore!
DIARY #10 - MLB EXPERIENCE
Once again we got a day to spend with family, I was fortunate enough to spend the day with a few of my teammates, Ryan and Jacob at Del Valle Regional Park. We enjoyed the local scenery and swimming.
I was enjoying my swim when the lifeguard yelled out “little boy in the blonde hair come back.” I had swam out further than my friends. One of the parents had to inform the lady lifeguard I was in fact the eldest kid in my group and a very confident swimmer. She relaxed.
Tonight we travelled into the Coliseum to watch the Oakland Athletics play the Detroit Tigers. All the teams in the Little League Intermediate World Championship, and their coaching staff, were invited as guests of the Oakland Athletics...that’s one of those “pinch me” moments as my coach would say. Of course every kid there was imagining being a pro on that field, performing for screaming fans.
Well, I better get to bed as we have a busy weekend with scratch matches lined up for us. Good night and thanks for reading my blog.
Once again we got a day to spend with family, I was fortunate enough to spend the day with a few of my teammates, Ryan and Jacob at Del Valle Regional Park. We enjoyed the local scenery and swimming.
I was enjoying my swim when the lifeguard yelled out “little boy in the blonde hair come back.” I had swam out further than my friends. One of the parents had to inform the lady lifeguard I was in fact the eldest kid in my group and a very confident swimmer. She relaxed.
Tonight we travelled into the Coliseum to watch the Oakland Athletics play the Detroit Tigers. All the teams in the Little League Intermediate World Championship, and their coaching staff, were invited as guests of the Oakland Athletics...that’s one of those “pinch me” moments as my coach would say. Of course every kid there was imagining being a pro on that field, performing for screaming fans.
Well, I better get to bed as we have a busy weekend with scratch matches lined up for us. Good night and thanks for reading my blog.
DIARY #9 - GAME 3 VS. EAST
Today was our game against East, and we were excited to play an American team. We had an early start with game beginning at 9am.
We played much better as a team and managed to get batters on base but struggled to get home. There was some excellent fielding with a spectacular diving catch taken by Ty Spaulding in Centre Field.
We scored our very first run across the plate, also by Ty. That was our only run of the competition.
We are all disappointed that the competition had to end but it really has been an incredible experience. We feel so lucky that quite a few teams have requested a scratch match with us and our coaching staff are trying hard to make some of those games happen over the weekend. More game time in America!
We will be returning to Australia soon, filled with new experiences, new goals and heaps of new merch!
Today was our game against East, and we were excited to play an American team. We had an early start with game beginning at 9am.
We played much better as a team and managed to get batters on base but struggled to get home. There was some excellent fielding with a spectacular diving catch taken by Ty Spaulding in Centre Field.
We scored our very first run across the plate, also by Ty. That was our only run of the competition.
We are all disappointed that the competition had to end but it really has been an incredible experience. We feel so lucky that quite a few teams have requested a scratch match with us and our coaching staff are trying hard to make some of those games happen over the weekend. More game time in America!
We will be returning to Australia soon, filled with new experiences, new goals and heaps of new merch!
Today we got another day’s break to spend with family before our game tomorrow against East. We were lucky enough to spend from 8 am till 7 pm with our families.
Today I went shopping at Dick’s Sporting Goods and got some batting gloves and shoes. Dick’s was full of baseball gear and more. We also went to Dollar Tree, everything was a buck and it was awesome.
We all can’t wait for tomorrow as we play our first American team. We all love playing in America, no matter the final score. All that matters is that we’re all having fun, on and off the field. We try to spend as much time as possible with the Californian team (our hosts) and the Canadians...we mostly speak the same language. We want to show our best to our new mates so, as you can imagine, we’re all putting in 110%.
DIARY #7 - GAME 2 VS. PUERTO RICO
Today was a beautiful, sunny day in Livermore. We were all pumped for our game against Puerto-Rico. We have an amazing bus for the ride to the games, it’s the limo of buses! We shared the bus with California and we sang all the way to the field.
In today’s game we played another amazing team, with some incredibly tall and talented players. The first pitcher must have been 6”2 or 3 and the reliever was taller than Ty as well.
We managed to get some hits but unfortunately could not score a run. We have an amazing bunch of players and the team spirit is incredible, with the team singing staying alive while battling it out in the batter’s box.
DIARY #6 - OFF-DAY FUN
Today we got a days break to spend with family before our game tomorrow against Puerto-Rico. We were lucky enough to spend 6 hours with our families.
Most of us got to go buy new baseball gear which was awesome. We all cannot wait to get back on the field tomorrow and shine. We love playing in front of our family and friends and we honestly feel privileged to face the best international teams in the world.
Today I spent a few hours with my mum, Ty, Riley B and Riley S along with all their families at Boomers (go-karts, golf and more). We raced go-karts and played some laser tag it was a great day having fun but we were all ready when it was time to return to our team for batting practice.
We are so lucky.
Today was game day, we played Asia Pacific, represented by Korea.
It was not the result we would have liked as we lost 19-0. The score doesn’t matter what matters is the fact that we had the opportunity to play probably the best team in the world.
REECE COLES MAKES A PLAY AGAINST ASIA-PACIFIC - PHOTO: BILL NALE
It was the best experience of my life, those Korean players pitch so fast you don’t see it coming. We all held our heads high and played the game how we always play it. Later we got to watch California versus South West.
California was our favoured team as we have made some great friendships with these players. We get along very well with the team, they are easy to talk too and all pretty cool.
JACOB SANTICH PITCHING AGAINST ASIA-PACIFIC - PHOTO: RYAN SANTICH
They had a close game but unfortunately South West took the win. Our next game will be Tuesday and we hope to take the win.
DIARY #4: FINALLY HERE! - 29 JULY
The day is finally here and after a short visit and good nights rest in Sydney we departed Australia for San Francisco. We have had a blast getting our uniforms and making new friends with the Livermore team.
THE CHAMPS ARE HERE!
The Northern Metros are in Livermore and ready to begin the #LLIWS tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/b8e9Ax1uDf
We attended the opening ceremony today and saw our parents since leaving Perth. It was an exciting day and we were made to feel like royalty.
Tomorrow is our first game against Asia Pacific and we are really excited to get on the field and make Australia proud.
DIARY #3: DEPARTURE DAY - Thursday 26 July
Reece Coles here and today is a new day and an extremely exciting one. All my teammates and I are excited and nervous, as we board the plane from Perth to Sydney. We are about to embark on our Journey that we have worked incredibly hard for.
STRETCH UP: The Northern Metros take some time out to stretch in Sydney (Photo: Jacob Santich)
We said our goodbyes to Perth and our families and are looking forward to saying hello to America. One of our hardest goodbyes was said to Jacob Stanton who has been one of our coaches from the very start of our journey and has played an extremely important role in getting us ready for our first game against Korea.
We had the opportunity to visit The iconic Sydney harbour Bridge and the opera house today which was absolutely amazing!
HARBOUR BRIDGE: The Northern Metros checked out the Sydney Harbour Bridge before flying out (Photo: Jacob Santich)
This is a spectacular opportunity and we all can not wait to rock Korea. I am assured all of our coaches are sitting down and discussing game tactics on how we are going to crack them. We have our game faces ready.
We are so proud to be representing Australia, watch out World Series we are coming.
DIARY #2: ONE DAY TO GO - Wednesday 25 July
The last few weeks have been an extreme challenge, juggling school work and our crazy training schedule. Most of our Baseball peers finished training months ago and, occasionally, I envy them (for a split second), as we freeze in the rain, infield and outfield.
All of my team mates attend various schools in the northern suburbs. Another team mate, Ty Spaulding, and I attend Darling Range Sports College (as members of the Baseball program and the academic enrichment program), which means travelling by train/bus for 2 hours each way to and from school. We have had a lot of days off school travelling to Nationals, and now heading for the World Series, so we have had to manage our off time to complete homework, test revisions and assessments.
As Departure Day approaches myself and team mates have been especially hectic, with a number of teachers providing work to be completed prior to departure. This will ensure that we are not behind the rest of our class mates on return to school. It’s all part of being a student/athlete and competing at a high level.
But, right now, the one thing most of the kids on the team are doing is packing up ready to leave for America. Speaking on behalf of the kids: Thank you to our parents, for the transport, the meals, the washing and making our dreams come true.
DIARY #1: T-2 DAYS AND COUNTING - Tuesday 24 July
Hi, I’m Reece Coles, player and media correspondent for the Intermediate League Australian Champions; Perth Northern Metros. It’s 2 days until I fly out with 12 team mates, 3 coaches and a ton of gear.
The next few weeks will be the best experience of our lives. People keep saying it’s the trip of a lifetime and it’s true. There are a few butterflies if I’m honest.
Head to https://t.co/vIx8rfyL3X for the first entry in Reece Coles' #LLIWS tour diary! Check out Reece interviewing head coach Simon Stanton! pic.twitter.com/q3S8dJxmE6
We’ve been training 3 days a week since February. There are times we are sore but we all work through the pain and niggling injuries because we all know we need to be at the peak of our game. We will be strong mentally and physically to compete in the greatest game at an international level. We want to make Australian Baseball proud.
I’ll keep you updated on our progress. Wish us luck!