Australia's Victoria Kangaroos youth baseball team has gotten a crash course in coping with changes over the past few months since preparation began for this week's Cleveland Indians Charities 14U Continental Cup tournament.
Continental Cup umpire Paul Jakubowski explains the ground rules of the baseball game that the Kangaroos, an Australian U14 team, led by coach Rob Sandler, center, and Skipper Mylonackos, right, encounter at the ballfield at Gilmour Academy.Winter in Australia runs from June to September, so many of the practices for the 15-player squad were conducted in rainy, cold weather.
“It was about 42 degrees when we left Australia,” said Rob Sadler, a lawyer when he's not managing the Kangaroos or serving as president of the Victoria Baseball Organization.
When the Aussies played their first couple of practice games early this week in 90-degree weather with humidity around 100 percent, Lukas Lymberatos found it quite an adjustment.
The second baseman picked up a nasty cough after the team landed at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on Saturday after spending 37 hours in a jet or changing flights.
“I was pretty sick the first two days, but I'm feeling much better now, thank you,” said Lymberatos, who said his fatigue was mainly caused by the 12-hour time difference between the countries.
The second night brought another adventure. While players and coaches were recovering from jet lag, a rainstorm hit near the Independence hotel the team was in before moving to John Carroll, the tournament headquarters, later in the week.
Lightning knocked out half of the power in the hotel.
“It was crazy,” said pitcher/shortstop Luke Brazier. “Everything was blowing around so hard you couldn't see anything out the window.”
Adjustments also must be made on the field during each Kangaroos game because the fields here are larger than in Australia.
The pitching mound in 14U Australian baseball is 56 feet from home plate. It's 60 feet here. Additionally, the base paths in the United States are 90 feet apart compared with an 85-foot distance in Australia.
“You really have to run the bases harder and faster,” said right fielder Georgia Smith, the lone girl on the team.
Ten weeks of long-toss drills helped improve arm strength, but it doesn't appear to be enough because Kangaroos catcher Jack Wills still finds it difficult getting his throws to second base on a straight line.
“The skill level of the infielders over here has been the biggest surprise to me,” said Wills. “They're unbelievable.”
The Kangaroos have struggled thus far, going 0-4 after two days of competition.
Australian 14U pitchers are prohibited from throwing curveballs to prevent arm injuries, and it's proven to be a big disadvantage in Continental Cup play.
“We're not used to seeing curveballs, so hitting has been a real challenge,” said Brazier. “The pitchers throw a lot harder than we're used to, and the teams over here are a step ahead because they play about five games a week. We play one, maybe two games a week.”
The players also have found American terminology somewhat confusing. Biscuits are “scones” in Australia, while cookies are “biscuits.” Cotton swabs are “cotton buds.”
But the Australian youngsters are resilient and are using the two-week break from school to experience new things.
They have eaten Twinkies and drank root beer and cherry Coke for the first time.
“It's hard to get Dr Pepper in Australia, but it's everywhere here, and I never eat warm breakfast at home,” said Smith. “We've been to Bob Evans a lot over here, and it's been fun eating bacon, eggs and waffles every morning.”
They also attended two Cleveland Indians games, spent a day at Cedar Point, and some of the group saw the new “Twilight” movie. They will be the envy of friends when they return since it will be a while before Australian theaters show the film.
“Everyone is friendly,” said Wills, “but the van rides are scary because you drive on the wrong side of the road.”
Even seemingly ordinary things have caught their attention, as Sadler discovered. A bunch of his players were gathered in a bathroom during a recent bed-check, taking turns flushing the toilet.
“Your toilet water goes down in the opposite direction,” said Sadler. “The kids found that absolutely amazing.”
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: bfortuna@plaind.com, 216-999-4665