On Sunday Herts Baseball Club received the exciting news that four members of the Herts Under-14 All Star team which became national champion last year have been called up by the Great Britain National Team.
Herts has had a good number of its adult players getting a call-up to the GB Team over the years. Players like Lee Manning and Andy Cornish from Hemel Hempstead and Dan Kerry from St. Albans are just a few that come to mind. However, it is only recently that members of the Herts youth teams have received this honour. The first Herts youngster to break into the GB (Under-15) National Team was Liam Green 12 months ago.
This time around four Herts players have received the invitation from GB U-15 National Team Manager, Brendan Cunliffe. They are Infielder Carlos Casal Jr. and first baseman, Jonny Compton-Weight, both living just a fly ball away from the club’s ballpark in Hemel Hempstead, Infielder Kyle Lloyd-Jones from St. Albans and Pitcher Marty Cullen Jr. from Hitchin.
This announcement recognises their incredible season last year and the hard work and progress which they and all the young players at Herts have made since the start of the club’s youth programme in 2007.
Casal Jr., Compton-Weight and Lloyd-Jones have been selected to play at the 2011 SUMA PONY Qualifier in Prague, Czech Republic from April 13-17. This is a Pony tournament with the winner going to Lafayette, Indiana, USA to compete in the Pony World Series. They will face Israel, Czech Republic, Tempo Praha (CZE), and Mures County (ROM) in the opening round.
Cullen Jr. has been selected for the USSSA Gold Medal Games in Kissimmee, Florida from July 9-16, where he may face opponents like the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, France, Italy and others.
This news is a tremendous boost for the players and Herts as an organisation. The Club is even more excited by the fact that there are many more talented players coming through the various age groups of the Herts youth system, from Rookie (U-11) and Bronco (U-14) through to the Pony (U-17) age group which the club will be unveiling this year.