Journey to the top of mound

Travelling hundreds of kilometres to develop his skills has earned rising Wanganui softball star Brad Worsley a 10,000km trip ... to the junior world champs in Argentina.

The 17-year-old former City College student was this week named in a 17-strong Junior Black Sox squad for the worlds, which will be held in the northeast Argentine city of Parana in November.

A talented pitcher, Worsley has had a particularly strong season with the Hutt Valley Dodgers, helping them to the top of the Wellington league.

Among his teammates there is senior Black Sox captain Rhys Casley who has been vocal in pushing Worsley's case with the selectors.

"He has certainly put his hand up for us and has carried the bulk of the workload - he has been a standout player," said Casley.

Worsley started his career as a youngster with Wanganui's Braves club but found the standard of play locally was not good enough for him to make the progress he wanted.

He played in Manawatu for three years and for the last four seasons has commuted to the capital each weekend for games, with his mother Jenny taking the role of taxi driver.

Currently doing work experience at Wanganui's City Gym, Worsley had felt fairly confident about his selection for the world championships.

"I have performed well at tournaments and with the Dodgers, and I figured there would have to be some pretty good pitchers out there if I didn't get picked," he said.

The youngster showed what he could do with the ball when he went with the Junior Black Sox to Australia in July 2010 and bamboozled the batters.

The New Zealand team won 16 out of 17 matches on that tour and beat the Australian juniors 7-0. That is quite a significant result as Australia have won the past four junior world champs - the last time in Canada in 2008 - and New Zealand have not ruled the world for 23 years.

It is not just trips to the Hutt Valley that have helped sharpen Worsley's skills. He spent five months in the domestic off-season last year playing in Brisbane.

"If I hadn't gone over, I would just have been training back here, and you can't beat the experience of competitive matches. I came back a better player and it's shown this season."

Before heading to Argentina, Worsley plans to be on his travels again and is close to signing a deal to play in the United States in the coming off-season.

He has lined up a stint with the Dolan and Murphy club, based just outside Chicago, from May to September.

So what makes a great pitcher? For Worsley, it's more about what's in your head than what's in your pitching arm.

"You play a few mind games with the batter. It's a mental game and all about being smart - knowing what to throw and when to throw it.

"You also need what they call 'mound presence' - you can't afford to be intimidated."

Junior Black Sox coach John Love has named another Wanganui player in his world championship squad, Pita Rona, son of Black Sox star Brad.

Rona, who made his name at North Harbour with his father and has also played for the Black Sox, is pursuing a baseball career with the Baltimore Orioles but is available for the worlds.