HIGH PERFORMANCE NEWS - Ben Foster

HIGH PERFORMANCE NEWS

Brrrrr…It’s starting to get cold outside (well at least for you Southerners) - but for us here in the High Performance division, we are certainly feeling the effects of Global Warming - and while everybody else is reaching for the electric blankets and hot chocolate, we are on fire in preparation for the scorching winter ahead.

2007 MLBAAP READY, SET, GO…

Finally after months of planning we are just about ready to launch into another Major League Baseball Australian Academy Program – our seventh in all, and possibly most exciting program to date.

With new Head Coach, David Nilsson, on board (in addition to the plethora of talented instructors who run this program every year) we are preparing to up the ante in this world class program for developing elite athletes.

This 8-week intensive Academy has already produced over 110 professional prospects and many more players who have gone on to secure college scholarships. Current Australian team stars like Bradley Harman, Luke Hughes, Richard Thompson, Adam Bright and Adam Blackley are all former Academy graduates - and with close to 70 young athletes slated for this year’s camp – we have high hopes of finding a few future Aussie stars.

Here’s a list of Athletes who have secured scholarships for the 2007 program.

2007 Cal Ripken World Series

The 2007 Australian “A-Roos” team selected to compete at this years Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Maryland has been officially announced.

This tournament, held in the United States, will see some of the best U/13 players on the planet battle it out from August 11-18, 2007.

For many of the boys involved, this represents their first chance to don the ‘green and gold’ for Australia. An opportunity they will cherish for the rest of their lives.

Many past members of this team have gone on to represent Australia at higher levels, and in January this year an unprecedented 10 Cal Ripken alumni were featured in the prestigious CLAXTON SHIELD - so watch out for these names as they might appear as Australian stars in the near future.

The ABF wishes to officially congratulate the boys on their selection and wish them the very best of luck in the upcoming tournament.

AUSTRALIAN ‘A-Roos’ TEAM

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

Many of our best players are steadily climbing the ranks in US professional baseball. Currently we have 23 players who are stationed at “AA” level or above – a fantastic achievement when you consider how difficult it can be to climb the ladder in pro ball.

While you can stay up to date with all our home-grown heroes at the AUSSIES OVERSEAS page on our website; here a just a couple of performances that warrant special attention –

Peter Moylan, continues to amaze us all, giving hope to many out there who might thinker with the idea of giving up on their dream. Pete recently had a run of 9 scoreless innings in the Majors spanning seven separate appearances and can boast an impressive 2.59 season ERA.

Grant Balfour, is opening some eyes on his march back to the big leagues after the better part of two years sidelined with arm problems.  With 41 strikeouts in just 25 innings pitched, Balfour’s bazooka-like right arm seems back to its best as he is holding opponents to a miniscule .187 batting average.

Adam Morrissey, first burst onto the Australian Baseball scene almost 10 years ago, as a prodigious young infielder with the Hunter Eagles in the former ABL. In 2007 and still at only 26 years old, “Mo” continues to give pitchers nightmares as he hovers around .300 and his .417 on base percentage is good for 3^rd best in the league.

AND FINALLY, A LITTLE BIT OF FUN…

And speaking of our Aussie overseas one of our favourite sons has alerted us to a little online game that helps him pass the many monotonous hours spent between games in the minor leagues. Sicksport Baseball is plenty of fun, and even has the added twist of letting you play as the Aussie National team. Check it out and see if your keyboard skills can match the real life talents of players like Durrington, Williams and Oeltjen!

All the Best

Ben and Brett

High Performance Division