Berwick City Cougars By Marc McGowan
CRICKET’S loss has certainly been baseball’s gain in the case of Berwick City Cougars youngster Damien Goodman.
The 12-year-old played cricket for one season, but decided to quit to concentrate on baseball.
Damien is now preparing to pack his bags and head overseas for the second straight year to play in the Cal Ripken World Series in Maryland in the United States.
The Traralgon schoolboy will represent the 15-man Australian under-14 side at the tournament after playing for the Aussie ’08 team in last year’s IBA-BOYS World Championship Series in Japan.
“I was really excited when I found out. I hoped I would represent my country one day,” he said.
“I was pretty confident after the trials, but I didn’t know who else I was up against because they were from different states.”
His mother, Debbie, makes the long drive from Traralgon to Berwick each weekend during summer so her sons, Damien and Linden, 14, can play the sport.
They compete for Traralgon in winter.
Debbie believes the sacrifice has been well worth it, with her equally talented son Linden also playing in Japan three years ago.
“It’s just amazing to think Damien can make the Australian team,” she said. “They can both play the game, but it gets very expensive. The travel is a killer – they sleep in the car and I drive.
“My husband, Craig, said the other day, ‘they should never get birthday presents; they’re whole lives are a party!’.”
Damien has set himself the lofty goal of making the World All-Star Team at the Cal Ripken World Series and hopes the competition is as enjoyable as the one in Japan.
“Japan was really fun, but it was a bit harder because we couldn’t speak their language,” he said.
“It was fun trying to communicate with them, but then it got a bit annoying when you couldn’t tell them what they were asking you.
“The local teams were pretty good, but then we had a World Series and they were really good. I learned how good the other countries are.”
Damien’s long-term aim is to reach the Major Leagues and said he would relish the experience if he received the opportunity.
“I hope to get into the Major Leagues and play for one of those teams,” he said. “It would be really, really awesome because you’re in one of the best teams in the world.
“I like baseball way more than cricket because with cricket you only get one bat and with baseball you have three outs and then you get another bat.”
