by Aussie Hearts
The Aussie Hearts have been providing opportunities for women and girls baseballers to play the game they love on an international stage since 2005. The September, 2013 tour was the 9th Aussie Hearts tour incorporating tournament play, friendly games and some once-in-a-lifetime baseball experiences, this time throughout Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, USA. Previous destinations have included California, Florida, Canada, Hong Kong, and Chinese Taipei.
The touring squad was made up of a handful of senior and 18U national team players who were joined by state and club baseballers, plus some up & coming juniors. The roster was drawn from across Australia with team members from Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne, Alice Springs and Brisbane. The tour was organised by Rob Novotny from Melbourne and led by head coach Narelle Gosstray from Darwin. Assistant coaches were current national team pitcher Lauren McGrath and former Australian catcher Kellie Manzie-Novotny.
In addition to the Australian-based coaches, the Hearts were joined by regular guest coach, 78 year-old Jeneane Lesko, a former Grand Rapids Chick in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) which was immortalised in the movie A League of their Own. Also joining the team was Patti Pelton, who portrayed Rockford Peaches’ second baseman, Marbleann Wilkenson in the classic movie. Former White Sox minor-leaguer Mitch Glasser rounded out the coaching staff.
Tour highlights were many and included
• Participating with teams from various parts of America in the inaugural Labour Day Tournament held at Beyer Field in Rockford, Illinois, the newly restored home of the Rockford Peaches. The Hearts came from behind in their final qualifying game to grab a spot in the grand final. They lost to the defending USA national champs from New England comprised of ten current or former USA national team players.
• At the last-minute after the tournament, the girls road-tripped to Iowa in uniform and played a pickup game at the famous“Field of Dreams” movie site. And yes, they took a photo coming out of the tall corn.
• The team held two training sessions with the Chicago White Sox Academy, plus a training session and private batting lessons with New York Yankees scout, Joe Ferro.
• The girls saw three MLB games in three stadiums across Chicago and Milwaukee. At the Chicago White Sox game, the coaching staff was invited on-field to watch batting practice with Houston Astros hitting coach John Mallee. The entire team was invited by one of the White Sox owners to sit in his skybox suite.
• The Hearts were also fortunate enough to be invited to the formal reunion dinner celebrating the 70th anniversary of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The event is normally only open to former players and associates of the League that ran from 1943 to 1954. The Hearts were able to meet 39 of the remaining players, all are now in their 70s and 80s.
The biggest highlight for the coaching staff was seeing the girls develop from day one, both on the field and off, becoming better ball players, improving physically, and in their understanding of the game. Plus they grew as individuals, learning what makes a good team, developing leadership skills, learning about themselves and how to make good choices, making lifelong friends, and having fun while they are doing it.
