A 14-year-old boy from Moraviantown who lives and breathes baseball is preparing for a unique opportunity to play the game he loves in New Zealand.
Kalib Stonefish was recently selected by 222’s Fastpitch to play with its U14 fastball team in the New Zealand U15 Boys Championships that are set to take place in January 2020.
Kalib's dad, Jacob Stonefish, said the team will be made up of players from across Canada -- the tryouts were held in September in Innerkip, ON and Saskatoon, SK.
"The tryout that Kalib went to [in Innerkip]... was loaded with very skilled athletes and I'm imagining a lot of great players got cut as well," said Stonefish. "It just took a little bit extra for him to stand out because of his size... some of those kids were quite big boys and [Kalib] is not a big kid."
While size may not be on his side, Stonefish said his son has a big heart and a strong passion for baseball that comes through clearly whenever he's around the game.
"[Kalib] has always been involved with my team that I play with," said Stonefish. "In some way, he's doing something with the team -- whether he's running around in the field or he's grabbing bats at the plate... he's just always waiting for the time that he can play with me."
It appears the hard work has just begun for Kalib, though, both on and off the field.
While he's expected to work out over the next couple of months and work on improving his skill-set, Kalib will also be spending the next few weeks raising money to cover the cost of the trip, which is estimated at $6,500 -- that includes the flight, food, and some spending money.
To cover that cost, Kalib and his family are working together to organize some local fundraisers.
"We're picking away as we can," said Stonefish. "[Kalib] sat down the other day and he has put together a 'Find the Joker' fundraiser that he's taking care of... his mom, his grandma, and his stepmom are all chipping in to do some online auctions... he's going through a bunch of different channels to make it work."
Stonefish said he has also set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for the trip. You can find that page by clicking here.