Wairarapa College head boy Michael McDermott won't need any introduction to the head coaches when he arrives in Canada next week to spend three weeks there as part of the International Softball Academy.
McDermott, 17, has been selected by the Masterton-based Giants club to join 14 other Kiwis, allunder the age of 21, for a programme which will involve three weeks of intensive tutelage and tournament play under the supervision of two former Giants players, Mark Quinn and Ritchie Clarke, both of whom live in Canada these days.
It was, in fact, teacher Quinn who introduced McDermott to softball when he was a pupil at Masterton Intermediate six years ago. Quinn and Clarke were integral members of Giants premier men's side at the time McDermott first donned their colours as well.
"Mark and Ritchie have played a big part in my softball development and it's great to think I'll be meeting up with them again," McDermott said yesterday. "They both have so much to offer, I can't wait to get into it."
McDermott's softballing talents have already taken him into the Hutt Valley representative sides in the under-15 and under-17 age groups and he was part of the under-17 squad who finished runners-up at the nationals this year.
Those experiences have whetted his appetite for playing at the highest possible level and he is quick to say selection in the Black Sox is the ultimate ambition.
"I want to play for my country - that's the dream," he said.
For that to happen, McDermott understands that every opportunity to impress has to be taken and he sees being one of the youngest at this year's ISA as a possible advantage in that respect.
"It gives me the chance to show I can mix it with older and more experienced players. It's up to me to make the most of it. If I do well it has to be a help for later on, doesn't it?"
In his favour is his versatility. He has shown the skill set to perform outstandingly at pitcher and short stop. Ask him his preferred position and he will quickly nominate short stop, but if Quinn and Clarke want him to play mainly as pitcher he's not the least bit worried.
"As long as I'm playing, I'll be happy," he said.
Softball is not the only sport in which McDermott excels. He is also captain of his college's first XI football and senior boys 'basketball teams but while he enjoys those codes it is softball where he aims to make the biggest impression.
