Albert stepping up Down Under

Bryce Alderton

Ryan Albert is only 12 years old and already his baseball stature is

growing.

Ironically, though, the most prominent baseball tournament he has

competed in is taking place “down under.”

Albert, a seventh-grade student at Ensign Intermediate in Newport

Beach, was one of three California players among 18 chosen to

represent the United States on the under-14 national team in the

Goodwill Baseball Series in Australia.

The U.S. under-14 team, one of three U.S. squads -- the under-16

and under-18 units are the other two -- had gone 2-0-1 as of

Wednesday, in three of its five games in Adelaide, South Australia,

the first of the three-stage tournament that also includes stops in

Perth and Sydney, Australia.

The series is an international baseball event that has attracted

more than 5,000 players, including several eventual major leaguers,

including former San Francisco Giants’ slugger Matt Williams, since

Bob Williams founded the tournament in 1983.

For Albert, who has played in the Cooperstown Dreams Park

tournament, a prestigious national event held in the city of Major

League Baseball’s Hall of Fame, the chance to play against some of

the best the world has to offer is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Players ages 13-18 are eligible to compete in the series and

filled out a profile on the website www.goodwillseries.org. Then

professional scouts contacted each player to schedule an interview

and, if possible, a tryout.

Common questions scouts ask in the interview include, “What is

situational hitting and why is it important? How many ways can a team

score from third base with less than two outs?”

Albert, obviously, scored positive grades in several areas and was

selected.

“It’s going to be great playing baseball against better people and

against [Australia], which is just starting baseball,” Albert said in

mid-December before he and his family departed.

From Adelaide, the U.S. travels to Perth, for a week’s worth of

games against the native country’s teams. The squads then venture to

Sydney and wrap up against squads from New South Wales.

Albert has Australian blood running through his veins and that is

not just because he has traveled there six times.

His mother, Lisa, is a Melbourne native and had a chance to visit

family on the 19-day trip.

Albert’s father, Fred, has watched and helped his son grow in the

game ever since Ryan started swinging a bat in tee-ball at age 5.

Both Lisa and Fred hope their son will realize the significance of

the trip.

The series’ rules encourage assimilation into Australian culture.

Ryan, like players from all teams, doesn’t stay in the hotels with

his parents. Instead, host families who have children participating

in the tournament welcome players like Ryan into their homes,

providing many opportunities for him to interact with the locals.

“I sure hope [Ryan] grasps it. This is a big deal,” Fred Albert

said.

“[Baseball] has been his No. 1 passion and it will be a challenge

to play with older kids because he is young.”

Ryan Albert will play Pony (ages 13-14) in the spring after two

straight seasons as an all-star in Newport Harbor Baseball

Association’s Bronco Division (ages 11-12).

The pitcher, third baseman and outfielder earned Newport-Mesa

Dream Team recognition last season and has been on all-star teams

virtually every year he’s played, Fred Albert said.

Ryan Albert tallied 67 strikeouts in 39 innings while allowing

just 10 runs in that span as a pitcher last season. He batted .400.

Ryan Albert also plays football and basketball, but said baseball

is where his passion lies.

“I never get bored with baseball,” Ryan Albert said.

“It makes you feel good when you make a good play. You have to be

emotionally strong.”

The budding star credits his parents with helping him progress in

the game.

“They helped me train and be able to do it,” Ryan Albert said.

“[Traveling to play in Australia] is unbelievable.”

And it is only in the early stages of his career.