Athlone A star jets off to Mexico

Wade Solomons in Western Cape colours.

South African Baseball Union (SABU) has a busy schedule starting at the end of this month with four junior teams headed to the world cup.

The under-12, 15, 18 and 23 sides all have world cup participation coming up, with the under-12s being first up in games taking place in Taiwan towards the end of July.

The under-15 squad will be up next as they head to Mexico in August.

The under-18s will compete in the USA and under-23s in Taiwan in September and October, respectively.

A number of Capetonians are in the travelling teams and will be looking to play a big role in representing the country against some of the best young baseballers in the world.

Wade Solomons, 14, will be donning the SA colours at the international stage when he takes to the diamond in the under-15 world cup.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Wendall Solomons, who plays baseball for Battswood, the young Solomons will be looking to go beyond what his old man has done in the game even though he is the guy he looks up to.

“My role model is my dad, he was the one that introduced me to the game. He made the time teaching me the basic skills when I first started playing and still helps and motivates me to be the best I can be,” said Wade.

The Hanover Park youngster who plays for Athlone A’s will be wearing SA colours for the first time, having been part of the Western Cape squads from the under-10s. He says his dream is to play in the highest baseball league.

It does not get any higher than Major League Baseball in the USA, a dream for any young baller. The world cup presents more than the opportunity to fly your home nation colours but to take a step further to catching the eyes of the scouts in major leagues at a young age.

“One day, my dream is to play baseball professionally and inspire more kids to play this sport,” said Wade.

Despite representing the country, the travelling players have to pay their own way and Wade with the help of his family is still in the process of raising funds for the Mexico trip. To support Wade got to https://www.backabuddy.co.za/wade-solomons.

Wade Solomons plays for Athlone A’s locally.