My name is Zac Newbold.

Baseball Australia has selected me as part of the U18s Australian squad travelling to Florida, USA, this coming September.

I depart Sydney on 28th August and return home on 21st September.

As part of this squad, I will train and play in a college showcase called Perfect Game.

During my participation, I will be vying for selection in a final 20-player squad that will ultimately represent Australia in the U18's Baseball World Cup Tournament to be held from 9th to 18th of September in Bradenton, Florida.

I am 1 of only 14 players from NSW in the squad and the only player from the Northern Beaches area.

I am a local junior in every way.

I grew up playing for Pittwater Baseball Club, starting as a junior tee-ball player at the age of 4.

I have represented Manly Warringah Baseball Club; Baseball NSW, where I was awarded the MVP of the U16 Nationals Tournament in 2020.

I formerly represented Australia in the U12 World Cup in Taiwan and the Cal Ripken tournament in the USA.

I am also a former Mona Vale Public School and Mater Maria Catholic College student, where I completed Year 12 last year and was School Vice Captain.

After completing my HSC, I was offered to study Bachelor of Pre-Medicine, Health & Science at Wollongong University, but deferred for various reasons.

Prior to focusing just on baseball, I was a Narrabeen Tigers RU, Warringah Rats RU, Narrabeen Sharks RL junior player & recently played in the U18 regional Sydney Scorpions touch team.

While being part of the U18 Australian baseball squad is an amazing achievement, and I am extremely excited and proud to be part of this squad, the downside is the cost of the trip. It is $6000.00 plus incidentals. So, I am currently working four jobs to try and fund this myself.

I have set up the GoFundMe page to try and raise funds to help support my dream of playing in the U18's World Cup Tournament.

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

Cheers,

Zac

Photo credit: Daily Telegraph