South Africa manager Shawn Schwartz: "Proud and excited" about his team
World No. 26 South Africa has been the only African Nation to participate in the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup. In three previous appearances, their best result to date is 11th place. This time it could be different. The South African Baseball Union (SABU) invested in a specific campaign for the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup 2025 presented by RAXUS, which included a few extra days in Tainan for the team to get used to the new environment.
The WBSC had the opportunity to discuss this with manager Shawn Schwartz. The 48-year-old, who began playing baseball at the age of six, represented South Africa in the 1998 Baseball World Cup. He has been a coach for eight years and is serving his first assignment with players in the U-12 age bracket.
"I work as a Financial Director," Schwartz said. "But I'm in the field six days every week, coaching. Baseball is a love, definitely my passion. I would love to have baseball as a career, but baseball in South Africa is not quite at that stage yet. It's a privilege to be part of it."
"Our expectations [to do well at the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup] have always been there. I believe that the way we have attempted to address past issues has helped us learn many valuable lessons. We have tried to bring something forward that allows us to pay more attention to details.
"We've had some delays getting here, some logistical challenges, but the team is in excellent spirits. The kids are thrilled and are looking forward to the opportunity."
Schwartz discussed the U-12 National Team selection process.
"Our junior programme starts in September every year and we run it into March, the summer months [in South Africa]. We play our National Championship at the end of March. We have all the regions represented in that tournament. You look at roughly 200 players in the category. We go through the process, following our Elite Training Project. Each region has players identified as future talent. We put them into groups. We conduct a further selection process to come to the final South African National Team."
“We are very proud and excited about our team and the culture and ethos we have been able to instill in these young people.”
Schwartz has had a long playing career. He experienced the top international competition at the Baseball World Cup 1998, when South Africa finished 15th, and believes he has the tools to transfer his love for the game to the kids.
"I think I can, 100%," he said with a broad smile. "One of the biggest things about junior baseball is that you need to get players to understand why they do things. Too many times, the information we transfer gets lost because we don't take the time to understand. If they do understand, they enjoy the game more, appreciate it more, and can apply themselves more effectively. Understanding the game in South Africa is a massive area we can focus on. These kids are very young but are receptive and they can be soaking a lot of information. The more information we can provide, the more attention to detail we can offer, while still maintaining balance, is a crucial part of our job."
Schwartz believes most has been done to get the team ready for the VIII WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup.
"I believe we have done it pretty well this year. We have a fantastic group of coaches throughout the country. Everybody is on board and wants these kids to come forward and see South Africa do well internationally."
Gift Ngoepe is the Baseball Hero of South African Kids. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2017 and appeared in 41 MLB games and 871 Minor League Baseball (MiLB games, including 289 at the Triple-A level through his career.
"Before him, you didn't get exposure to baseball in South Africa," Schwartz commented. "You've got kids who aren't fortunate enough to see baseball. If you don't see something every day, it isn't easy to appreciate and understand, to even find a hero in it. What Ngoepe did was put South Africa on the map and show many younger kids in South Africa that it is possible to achieve the same."
On a final note, Schwartz added, "As long as we follow the process we put into place and are supportive of it, there's no way we can't do it. We will get there."
South Africa's debut in the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup 2025 presented by RAXUS was not soft. They lost 17-0 to Asian powerhouse Korea on the opening day but scored their first run on Day Two with Mason Sage driving in Nate Lerwill before going down 11-1 to Panama. They play defending champions USA on Sunday, the Dominican Republic on July 28 and will close the Opening Round against Czechia on July 29.