Hi my name is Madison Dakin-Telford.

I am 12 years old, I live in Melbourne and I have been selected to represent Australia with the Team Legacy Girls squad travelling to the Baseball For All Nationals in Rockford, Illinois, USA from July 18-26, 2026. The BFA Nationals is the largest girls baseball tournament in the USA, hosted in Rockford, home of the legendary Rockford Peaches and the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. I am very excited to take the field with my Aussie teammates to compete in the 12/U competition against girls from the US, Canada, France, Mexico, South Korea and other countries. I am really looking forward to making new friends from all over the world.

I absolutely love playing baseball and softball, I work hard to improve and I train every day, I always have a ball in my hand. Sometimes I practice hitting a golf sized whiffle ball with a thin PVC pipe so I can learn to hit any pitch. My mum taught me to hit off a traffic safety cone when I was 2 years old and I have loved playing in my backyard ever since. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on my hitting with Aaron Whitefield at Essendon Baseball Club. I also play softball for the Northwood Falcons within the Waverly Softball Association. It has been really fun to learn how to pitch for both baseball (with Kate Love) and softball (with Dannielle Rigg). I enjoy playing in the infield, especially at 1st and 2nd base. In 2025 I was so grateful to have the chance to be coached in the Victorian 12/U baseball team by two Emeralds Lili Cavanagh and Allie Bebbere and Kira Kuwamoto.

I have represented Victoria in the:

My cover photo is my coach from the Legacy Tournament in Sydney, Ticara Geldenhuis, who was the top Australian draftee in the US Women’s Pro Baseball League and was signed to Boston. Ticara is a wonderful coach and role model who inspired me when she told me I have a professional, positive and can-do attitude and that I am a true leader, this meant the world to me as Ticara is such an awesome player and person. When I competed at the U14 Softball National Championships in January 2026, I was so fortunate to meet three former Australian Olympic softball team captains and one of the current Australian softball team captains which was so inspiring. They talked about its no just what you do when you fail, it is about what you do next. I was the school vice-captain in Year 6 and I really enjoyed leading my team as captain of the SSV Victorian softball team when we won a silver medal at nationals.

While being part of the 12/U Team Legacy Australia baseball squad is an amazing achievement, and I am extremely excited and proud to be part of this squad, the challenge for my family is the cost of the trip. It is approximately $8000 plus incidentals plus another $7,000 for my mum who must accompany me. To help raise money so I can compete I am going to sell all my old baseball gear that I have grown out of, wash cars and sell my Lego.

I have set up the GoFundMe page to try and raise funds to help support my dream of playing in the Nationals in Rockford, Illinois, USA. I am so grateful for your support.

I would appreciate any size donation and look forward to letting you all know how I went in Illinois.

Thank you for your support,

Madi