In June this year, Fourth Year student Daniel Aisa Miller received the exciting call to say he had earned a place on the Great Britain U15 National Baseball Team. He travelled to Valencia, Spain over the summer to compete in a European Championship Qualifier against some of the top Baseball-playing nations in Europe, winning all but the final match to be placed second.
Here, Daniel tells us about his experience: “I am half American, so always played Baseball in the summer; when my Canadian friend moved here and found a Baseball league, I joined it for fun not knowing the true potential of trying something new. That was five years ago, and four years ago I made the GB team for the first time in the U12 team and played in a tournament in the Czech Republic before going to Spain this year.
“I went to Valenica for 10 days in the summer and played six matches against Israel, Spain, Belgium, Romania, Switzerland, and Spain again. We won all our games but lost in the final despite a great effort. All our games were live-streamed, which was a cool experience. Overall, we had a great time; travelling and being with the team was fun, visiting the city and beach and eating a lot of paella!
“Representing my country is one of the best experiences in my life so far. It’s an incredible, unique thing to be able to do, and I learnt a lot from the two tournaments about how different other countries are. My great coaches have changed my mind set and thinking about all sports, which has led to helping me in all my sports.
“At Trinity I play Hockey, Rugby, and Football for the A teams and am improving constantly. The great advantage of playing multiple sports at a high level is firstly all-round athleticism, and the increased drive to become a better sportsman. Each sport has helped me become a team player.
“For baseball, the next age group is U18 which is a big challenge for me, so I need to keep on developing my skills and improving, by continuing to train and play in league in the summer. I’m keen to keep up all my sports at Trinity, as I enjoy playing a range of sports with great coaches.”
“Daniel is an outstanding athlete who plays across a range of sports within the school, so it is no surprise to me that he has represented his country in Baseball – and it’s great to see him following some of his family heritage! Despite Daniel's athletic ability, what impresses me most is his attitude towards sport; he works hard, is eager to listen and has an outstanding skill set with a real competitive edge. I am sure he will continue to go from strength to strength throughout his time at Trinity. Well done!”
Mr. Kimmins, Daniel's previous form tutor and sports coach
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