SPORTS
Brothers in gloves Nick and Matt Lowe are softball prodigies, Phil Barnes reports.
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ears of practice and hours of dedication have led to Nelson brothers Nick and Matt Lowe being selected to play for New Zealand age-group softball teams. Nick, 17, who plays infield, has been selected for the Under-17 Emerging Sox. Catcher Matt, 15, joins the Under-15 Developing Sox. The brothers first took up softball at primary school at Clifton Terrace. Nick says he started in Year 6, initially because the school was short of players. He soon became keen on the game, and played for his school teams at Clifton Terrace and then Nelson Intermediate. At the age of 13 he joined Nelson club side the Stoke Eagles, and graduated through the various Nelson and Upper South Island rep teams until making Southern Pride, who are effectively the South Island Under-17s team. As part of Southern Pride, Nick twice went to Australia to play tournaments. Then in June he was selected for the NZ Under-17s. When WildTomato spoke to him he had just returned from playing in the International Friendship Series in Brisbane. “We played against the Australian Under-19s B side and the other Australian state sides. We finished up third out of eight teams.”
Inspired by his brother Matt says he took up softball after watching his brother play. He played at primary and intermediate school before joining the Stoke Eagles at 13. “I then went to Christchurch and took part in the Under-13 South Island club champs and we won that.” While still at intermediate school he sometimes played for the Eagles’ Senior B side. Last summer he started playing for the A team. He also played for Nelson rep-level age-group teams, joining the Under-13s when he was 10 and the Under-15s when 12. Matt then played in the Marlborough Under-15s rep team, which took part in the South Island tournament and came fifth. He says national selectors looked at the statistics from those tournaments, resulting in his selection for a South Island tournament team who played
Matt also played for Nelson rep-level age-group teams, joining the Under-13s when he was 10 and the Under-15s when 12. against their North Island equivalents. “From that game some of us got selected into a training squad where we took part in a three-day training camp in Wellington in the July school holidays.” Matt was then selected to be part of the New Zealand Under-15 Development Squad, destined to travel to Mackay, Queensland to play in the Australian state championships.
Reward for hard work The brothers have not reached this level without putting in long hours of training. They devote around 20 hours a week to the sport, which is time that has to be juggled around school and other commitments. As well as training twice a week with
the Stoke Eagles and playing at least one game a week in the season, Nick also goes to the gym four times a week. Matt is too young for gym workouts so he runs and does body-weight exercises as part of his preparation. He also plays rugby for Nelson College. The brothers have to find time to attend rep, regional and now national training camps and tournaments. Although softball may be a summer sport, at this level they are involved with it year-round. “Sometimes you do feel pretty drained,” Matt says. Above: Matt Lowe,15, left, training with brother Nick, 17 89