Hawke's Bay softballer Kane Herbert is living his dream in Wisconsin."I've always dreamed about a long-term playing stint in the United States and this is it," the Fast Pitch premier men's player wrote in an email home this week.
"Hopefully pitching over here will help me become the No.1 pitcher for Fast Pitch next season," Herbert said.
The 2011 Hastings Boys' High School Sportsperson of the Year, Herbert, is pitching for the The Bar of Appleton team which played 15 games within two weeks.
"I pitched in seven of them and one of them was against the Circle Tap Dukes team which had Jeremy Manley pitching for them," Herbert wrote, referring to one of New Zealand's best pitchers and a brother of top Hawke's Bay pitcher and fellow Black Sox training squad member Regan Manley.
Herbert's team won't be playing in either of the International Softball Congress or American Softball Association tournaments which are regarded as the two toughest interclub tournaments in the world. However The Bar of Appleton will play in the North American Fastpitch Association's World Series as the defending champions and during the same week Herbert will also play in a Kiwi-dominated side in the North American Fast Pitch Association's under-23 tournament.
Herbert's United States stint which will continue until August 15 was arranged by former Hawke's Bay and Black Sox player Paul Walford. Herbert's sponsor has provided an apartment and a job.
Prior to the trip Herbert's softball highlights included winning national titles with Hastings Boys' High School teams, playing for an International Softball Academy side in Australia and playing for the Hawke's Bay senior men's side at the last two National Fastpitch Championship tournaments.