By Nick Creely
For 14-year-old rising baseball star Marcus Graham, it’s all about achieving his goal of making the Australian team to Panama.
The Berwick City Cougars youngster, who also attends Beaconhills College in Berwick, is hopeful that he has done enough for the selectors to have no choice but to pick him for the Under 15 World Cup, which kicks off on 10 August.
Only recently, Marcus returned from New Zealand, as part of Australia’s World Cup qualifying team from 18 to 21 January, and said it was a great experience in learning more about the game.
“I just did the Under 16 Nationals in Blacktown, and from that they chose bottom aged kids to go to New Zealand for the Under 15 World Cup Qualifier, and we played Fiji, New Caledonia and New Zealand,” he said.
“I was really excited, I didn’t think I was going to get in but I did.”
Marcus’ baseball journey takes him back to childhood, where he tried other sports but settled on the sport he felt most passionate about.
“I started T-Ball when I was five, and I just kept doing it; I did heaps of sport, like tennis, swimming, basketball, and karate, but chose baseball,” he said.
But the road to Panama is going to take a lot of hard work for the ambitious youngster, who acknowledges he still has some areas he’d like to improve on, but has strengths that he prides himself on.
“I feel like my defence is better than everything else I do; I usually catch, and when I don’t catch, I play a bit of outfield,” he said.
“They will announce the squad a month before they leave; I still need to improve my hitting and everyone keeps telling me that.
“I need to swing faster and with more intent to hit it harder.
“And when I strike out, not showing you’re upset is important; when you’re in tournaments, you have to be on your game the whole time.”
And he has the Berwick City Cougars to thank for a lot of his success, and thanked them for all they’ve taught him so far.
“The club coach Dan (Betreen) has really helped me, and Craig (Barnett), my coach has really helped me too,” he said.
“They have a wall at the back with lots of pictures of people that have played college, state or Australia; I would like to be on that wall.”
Marcus has ambitions to play in the MLB (Major League Baseball) one day, and supports the Boston Red Sox.
