Three-and-a-half years after his dad encouraged him to take up a new sport, Jayden McDonald has been picked to play for Australia.
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The young softball star, who plays with the Saints club in Wagga, knows how much it will mean to represent his country.
"A bit excited," McDonald said with a grin. "Too excited to say anything, basically."
If he wasn't sure, he could read it in his father's eyes.
"Dad was tearing up a bit."
McDonald was selected after the recent under 15 boys regional softball championship in Canberra.
Representing NSW Country, along with Cecil Lang, Todd Maiden and Luke Nixon, they were up against two NSW Metropolitan teams, two Queensland outfits, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and the ACT.
"We won most (of our games) but we lost to the winning team in the semis, Queensland Storm," he said.
The 15-year-old Mt Austin High School student loves pitching and playing first base. His performance with the bat was handy too, with 32 at-bats for four outs.
McDonald paid tribute to the support of his dad, Tony, and the help of NSW Country coaches, Steve Besgrove, Robert Powell, Kathryn Stuart and Drew Telfer.
The left-hander is one of 30 players picked in the Australian Under 15 boys squad. He'll travel to Queensland in July to contest the International Friendship Series, featuring teams from the United States, Philippines and New Zealand.
The tournament is part of the pathway towards the 2022 Under 18 World Cup.
It's a stunning journey for a player who picked up a bat for fun at a primary school sports trial a few years ago at Tolland Public School.
"I didn't know anything about it," McDonald said.
"Dad said, 'Do you want to play softball?' And I said, 'What's that?' Then I went to a PSSA trial, made the team and just went from there."
He's well and truly hooked now. Last week, McDonald represented Riverina at the NSW Combined High Schools boys carnival in Sydney. This week, he's umpiring at the girls' equivalent which is being held at French Fields in Wagga.
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