WEST Nowra's Stephen Pearson has just returned from the baseball trip of a lifetime - which he hopes helps take the next step in his own career journey.
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Pearson and a host of the countries brightest stars of the diamond visited the United States last month, as part of the NxtGen Big League Dreams tour.
"I was selected for the tour after attending a combine in Sydney in January," Pearson said.
"At the combine, we were tested and measured in a number of areas and given feedback as to where we compare to other baseball players our age around the world.
"Given this information, the NxtGen coaches selected a squad and I was lucky enough to be selected."
The NxtGen program encourages Australian baseball players to follow their dreams via a path that includes education, such as playing college baseball with a tertiary education.
As such, the tour included stops as a number US college campuses and training centres, as well as games - which both incorporated coaching from former Major League Baseball players Trent Oeltjen and Ryan Rowland-Smith.
"Our first stop was in San Diego and our NxtGen under 14s squad played some practice games against some local teams then played in a tournament against other teams from Southern California," Pearson said.
"In San Diego, we also went to a minor league game at Lake Elsinore and visited both the EXOS Athlete Performance Centre and San Diego State University to check out their baseball facilities."
Next stop for the Nowra Anglican College student and his tour group was Los Angeles.
"While at Ontario Mills, we played in another tournament and did training at EM Speed and Power," he said.
It was during his time at Los Angeles, that Pearson, 15, had the highlight of his trip.
"Going to the Anaheim Angels and Seattle Mariners game was the highlight of my trip," he said.
"The players were all very friendly and I met Mariners player Daniel Vogelbach, who had recently played in the All Star game
"We also went onto the field for batting practice - the game was amazing as the Angels pitched a combined no-hitter."
Upon reflecting on his trip, the Shoalhaven Mariners product believes he is now in a better position to chase his baseball dream.
"Playing in the tournaments against US players of my age was very challenging as they have the opportunity and facilities available to play and train more often than I can," he said.
"I feel I batted very well on the trip but know if I keep training I can do better but I will have to work harder living in a country where baseball is still a minor sport.
"As a whole though, the coaching that I received on the tour has made me a better player.
"I have been able to improve my batting stance and my pitching but I have also learned what opportunities are available to me if I train hard and study hard.
"Seeing the facilities available to college players was inspiring but I need good marks at school to get into the best college."
The year nine student, who has the motto of 'no grind, no shine', is now focused on finishing off his 2019 season strongly.
"Right now, I'm taking what I have learned and using it playing for the Shoalhaven Mariners in the Illawarra Baseball League," he said.
"In October, I will be representing Illawarra in the NSW Country Senior League Championships (under 16s) in Newcastle, with the goal of gaining selection in the NSW Country squad for Nationals in January 2020."