The teacher at Greenwell Point Public School recently guided the Brisbane Bandits to the Australian Baseball League championship – giving the franchise their third straight title.

“Being part of the three-peat and creating history was amazing,” Atherton said.

“It was also great to have so much family, including my son for the first time, there supporting me.

“I'd won a title in the United States but being injured, it doesn’t compare to this where I contributed to our success.

“Especially to have such an important role in the side as pitcher.”

While the 28-year-old was over the moon with the title, it still doesn’t compare to pulling on the green and gold jersey – a honour he will once again have next month in Japan.

“Receiving that Australian jersey for the first time is still easily the greatest accomplishment of my career,” he said.

“Especially when you consider it’s have given me a chance to pitch in front of crowds of up to 55,000 overseas, like I did in the Tokyo Dome in 2017.

“That moment is by far the best thing to ever happen in my career,”

Despite all these accomplishments, which includes playing the US for numerous seasons, Atherton still managed to complete is teaching degree.

“It took me five years to complete the degree – it was a pretty hard slog,” he said.

“I was playing professional baseball that whole time and had to find time to fit it in – it was tough to find the motivation after a 12 hour bus ride and playing for 30 days straight but I got it done.

“In saying that, I found it kept my head glued on to my targets, while keeping me out of trouble.

“As I always say, life is meant to be busy.”

Atherton still admits his life is a juggling act, between is his work and playing commitments.

“It’s tricky sometimes – I’ve gone straight from the airport to Greenwell Point to teach before,” he said.

“People ask how I do it but I always try to live by the saying ‘plan hard, teach easy’, which makes my job a whole lot simpler.”

Coming from Kempsey, Atherton hopes his journey motivates his students and all young aspiring athletes to follow their dreams.

“Coming from my circumstances, I didn’t have all the fancy possessions,” he said.

“No matter where you are or what you have, you always have that ability to work hard.

“It’s not about the fancy things in life – the end result is just a product of all the hard work you’ve put in.

“Find something you love and give it 100 per cent – which is what I tell me kids everyday.”