The first stage of the Great Britain Under-19 and Under-16 National Team tryouts took place last month and catcher Jake Caress had not one but several reasons to be pleased when the GB Team announcement was made. It confirmed that he is through to the next phase of the GB U19 Team selection process. Among the 13 Herts teammates who made it through was also his brother Brodie Caress.

However, it was the news that 12-year-old Ben Jones has made it through to the second round of the GB U16 team tryouts which had an unusual angle. 17-year-old Jake Caress is also the manager of the Herts Cardinals who compete in the British U14 league and Ben Jones plays under Caress for the Herts Cardinals. We had a chance to speak with Jake Caress to get a better idea about his experience at the GB Team tryouts wearing both his player cap and his managerial cap at the same time.

Q: You have experience with GB tryouts and know Ben as his team manager with the Herts Cardinals. Did you think that he will manage to go through to the second stage of the GB U16 tryouts?

Jake Caress: After seeing Ben play and train both at Herts and at the national academy I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be able to progress further.

Q: Which news gave you more pleasure, you progressing in the GB 19 selection process or Ben Jones doing the same in the GB U16 Team?

Jake Caress: This is a hard one because although it was a great pleasure for myself being selected for the U19 GB Team it also brings great joy that I am a manager of a potential national player.

Q: Did you have a chance to give Ben any words of encouragement during his tryout or did it take place at the same time with your tryout with the GB U19 team which meant that you couldn’t talk with him?

Jake Caress: During the session breaks there was chance for me to give him some words of encouragement but majority of the tryouts were run simultaneously.

Q: Ben Jones is competing for a GB spot against players who are 2 or 3 years older than him. Do you think he can make the GB U16 final squad?

Jake Caress: I believe from watching Ben play he does have the skill to make the team but if he is competing against players who are 2 or 3 years older I think they might have the edge in areas such as strength.

Q: Do you have any advice for Ben as he prepares for the second round of the GB U16 selection process?

Jake Caress: Focus, train hard and just try to relax while playing. Oh and another thing; Hustle, whenever you can just hustle.

Q: Millions of British boys and girls have been inspired by the 2012 London Olympics and want to represent their country. Would you recommend that they give baseball a try, and, if so, why?

Jake Caress: I would always recommend that you give baseball or softball a go as it’s a fun and enjoyable sport that can be played almost anywhere. By joining clubs and learning the basics soon you can pick up the skills and begin to master the sport looking at progressing to higher levels.

Q: This is the highest number of Herts players to reach the second phase of the GB U19 and U16 tryouts. Obviously, it is unlikely that all Herts players will secure a place in the final squads, but is there a belief that with hard work anything is possible and players from this fantastic Herts baseball generation can earn a place in the GB Senior Team in the coming years?

Jake Caress: I believe with dedication the Herts players of this generation could have a great potential to play in the senior team in tournaments such as the World Baseball Classic. We like to talk a lot about ‘intent’ at practices so if you have the intent to play at a higher national level then I really feel strongly that they could.

The Great Britain National Team has confirmed that 13 members of Herts Baseball Club have successfully progressed through to the second stage of the GB Under-19 and GB Under-16 National Teams selection process for the 2014 season.

GB U19 TEAM

In the Under-19 GB tryouts, pitcher and catcher, Jake Caress, and third baseman, Kyle Lloyd-Jones, are through to the next stage. Both players took part in these tryouts a year ago, and it will be interesting to see if they will secure a place in the final roster in 2014. They have made outstanding progress over the last 12 months at club level and in 2013 they were promoted to the Herts Ravens team which competes in the British Triple-A League.

They are joined by three other Herts players who are one or two years younger than them. Jose Morillo, Warwick Byrne and Will Zucker reach this stage of the GB U19 selection process for the first time and this is a great achievement for these young players who in 2013 were part of the Herts Harriers who were runners-up in the Under-17 national championship.

GB U16 TEAM

In the Under-16 age group eight Herts players took part in the GB U16 tryouts and all of them are through to the second phase. Callum Vangundy, Carlos Casal Jr, Conner Brown, Tom Everex-Armstrong and Zack Longboy made the final GB U16 squad in 2013 and all of them have progressed again this time around. They are joined by Ben Jones, Brodie Caress and Ollie Johns.

Ben Jones is only 12-years-old so it is very impressive to see him compete with the U16 players at such a young age. Another interesting fact about Jones is that he plays for the Herts Cardinals in the Under-14 league and the manager of the team is the aforementioned Jake Caress, who is through to the second round of the GB U19 tryouts (click to view interview with Jake Caress).

THE HARD WORK HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN

There will be additional evaluations in the Spring and the size of the GB U19 and GB U16 rosters will be reduced further ahead of the GB Team’s 2014 international games schedule. It is unrealistic to expect all 13 Herts players to make the final squads, but the rising number of Herts players battling for a place in the GB teams is exciting news for everyone connected with Herts.

MORE TO COME

Herts Baseball 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 the U-11 and U-14 teams through to the U-17 age group. The opportunity is there for any young players who want to get involved in baseball to progress and wear the GB Team jersey. But you don’t have to be a GB National Team player to play baseball. The club is expected to make exciting announcements in the coming weeks about the expansion of the Herts youth baseball programme which hopes to give many more youngsters from around the region the opportunity to play the game.

Any interested boys and girls between 6 and 16 years of age from complete beginners to advanced players can join the Herts baseball youth teams (contact the club for details how to join or for more information).

The 2013 season for the Herts Under-17 team was capped-off in style at the annual awards. This year the event was held in Basildon which is located in the neighbouring county of Essex. It was hosted by the Brown family and organised by the parents of the U17 players.

Carlos Casal Sr was the master of ceremony, while Carlos Casal Jr provided the audio-visual entertainment. This included a film showing the history of the current generation of Herts U17 players from the start of the Herts youth programme in 2007 to this day. Some great memories including the 2010 season when Herts won the U14 championship and reminded us of the families which were part of the team and have since relocated to other parts of the world, but they will always be part of this Herts generation.

Next it was time to announce and present the 2013 awards. Tom Everex-Armstrong picked up the prestigious Most Valuable Player Award. The MVP is voted on by the players and is a deserved recognition of Armstrong’s hard work over the years. Everyone is looking forward to more of his team speeches in 2014. He also received the Cy Young award for his outstanding pitching performances which included the win against rivals London Mets in the Semi-Final of the National Championship. His ERA for the U17 league season stands at 3.68 with 30 strikeouts and 5 wins.

Carlos Casal Jr and Charlie Mayhew picked up the infield and outfield gold gloves, respectively. Casal also received the Most Stolen Bases trophy with 14 steals. Tom Jansson-Wright had an impressive first season moving up from the U14 to the U17 leagues and was chosen as the Rookie of the Year. An injury from a cycling accident kept him out of the postseason, but everyone is hopeful that he will recover in time for the 2014 Opening Day.

In the batting category third-baseman Callum Vangundy was the batting champion with .444 average, .667 slugging percentage and 10 RBIs. Jose Morillo was the Home Run Champion, a change after Liam Green made this trophy his own over the previous two seasons.

The event continued with various competitions including a Britain’s Got Talent show. We hope that someone managed to capture the performance of coaches Carlos Casal Sr and Cris Hiche on video as well as that of Carlos Casal Jr and Conner Brown, who appeared to tell a story of two lovers in a balletic performance to the sound of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven. At one point Conner Brown appeared to die and Carlos Casal Jr made desperate attempts to revive him without success at which point he committed suicide not realizing that Conner was just about to wake up from his very brief coma. Please contact the club if you have videos or photos from the event.

Apart from the members of the 2013 Herts Harriers team, it was exciting to see the new signings who will be wearing the Herts jersey in the U17 and the senior leagues in 2014.

The Herts Harriers are ready and eager to return to the ballpark in 2014 – the players and the coaching staff looked like they have some unfinished business.