'Boodge' Hanley eyes return to Black Sox radar

Jovaan Hanley has been overtaken by several of his Hawke's Bay senior men's softball teammates in the quest for Black Sox selection.
Pitcher Regan Manley, who withdrew, and second baseman Aaron Kuru were named in the New Zealand side which played the world champion Australians across the Tasman in December. Infielders Curtis Huata and Josh Gettins were both in the training squad from which the team was selected from.
Hanley, 20, wants to return to the Black Sox radar and knows some strong performances with Hawke's Bay at this week's National Fastpitch Championship in North Harbour will enhance his chances.
"It will be good to put that black shirt on again," said Hanley who was in the Junior Black Sox team which finished fourth at the 2008 Junior World Series at Canada.
The shiftworker has been training accordingly - up to eight hours a week of running and gym work on top of his Hawke's Bay and Saints club side training.
"I'm almost as fit as I was when I made the Junior Black Sox. I've shed 15kg," since last season," said Hanley.
"I wanted to feel good about myself," said the versatile outfielder and power hitter who last year almost gave the impression he would become one of those sad stories - a bloke who made the big time at junior level but didn't kick on like he should have.
Fortunately for his club and the Hawke's Bay side he didn't. "Boodge" (Hanley's nickname) has lost count of the home runs he has smashed in Hawke's Bay's premier club competition this season.
His haul has brought back memories of his 2008 season with the old Tamatea club when he earned another nickname "Barry Bonds" after the Major League baseballer who held the record for home runs at that time.
"I had the wrong eating habits and was just snacking and drinking the wrong stuff all the time. It all caught up with me," recalled Hanley.
"Family also became more of a focus," said Hanley referring to his partner Ramari and one-year-old daughter Legacy.
A three-time national champion (twice with Hastings Boys' High School and once with the Hawke's Bay under-19 side) Hanley echoed Bay coach and three-time world champion Chubb Tangaroa when predicting a top four finish for the Bay team this week.
"The team is coming together really well and the top four is a realistic goal."
Should the side achieve this goal and the likes of Kuru, Huata, Gettins, Manley and Hanley gain Black Sox squad selection the Hawke's Bay men's side will be back where it belongs - among the country's elite.
For Hanley, who started playing as an eight-year-old at Camberley School in Hastings, it will be an appropriate reward for someone who has put in the hard yakka and made the necessary sacrifices.
It's easy to understand why Tangaroa is demanding a top four finish. Manley is regularly ranked among the country's top three pitchers.
Catcher Grant Dean and first baseman and captain Mario Herbert are both former Junior Black Sox players. Kuru, Gettins and short stop Te Rangi Chadwick, who was extremely unlucky to miss Junior Back Sox selection in 2008, will form a slick starting infield combination.
Hanley is likely to feature in a starting outfield trio with another former Junior Black Sox rep Rongo Rapaea and the multi talented Luke Herrick. It's no secret a team must have sufficient depth to be a force at NFC level where teams play at least six games during the first three days of the four-day tournament which starts on Thursday.
Manley's deputy Tamihana Hokianga is gradually regaining the dominance and consistency which earned him Junior Black Sox selection in 2008. Huata will be a more than capable sub should any of the infielders require a spell. Tangaroa has stressed to his troops he doesn't want this week's event to be one-season return to the big time for the Bay. He reminded them about when Hawke's Bay was last a force at this level back in the mid 1990s.
"We had a young player back then by the name of Thomas Makea who went on to become the best outfielder in the world and has been for the last 11 years.
"There's a few of you who have the potential to do that ... it just comes down to how much you want to work for it."
The time for talking about this return is over Hawke's Bay. It's now time for some action to do the talking.