Western News: June 05, 2018

8 Tuesday June 5 2018
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
WESTERN NEWS
Bayleys, Crusaders
tackle school bullying
Riccarton pitcher gets NZ call-up
with help from US mentors
A NEW children’s book has been
launched to tackle bullying head
on – and it tells the story of some
familiar Canterbury icons.
Bayleys Canterbury and the
BNZ Crusaders have teamed up
to launch Ace: A Horsey Tail of
Courage.
Aimed at school children aged
five to eight, it tells the story of
Ace, a young horse who is being
bullied by his peers. He dreams
of becoming one of the six
Crusaders Bayleys Horses which
ride out at the start of every home
game.
The story ends well for Ace
who achieves his dream, just as
his real-life character did.
Ace, a four-year-old
thoroughbred mare was in
training when the book was
being written. He made his
debut on the field on May 12 at
AMI Stadium when the BNZ
Crusaders beat the Waratahs
31-29.
Holly, another character in the
book who stands up for Ace, is
the horse that sets the pace for
the others and keeps them on
track, even though she’s third in
line.
Ace: A Horsey Tail of Courage
aims to encourage children to
speak-up and report incidents
of bullying whether they are
the victims or witnesses. It has
already been received well.
Last year the OECD
programme for international
student assessment produced a
report on students’ well-being.
Fifteen-year-old students in 51
countries were surveyed about
perceived bullying. New Zealand
students reported the secondhighest
rate of bullying in the
OECD.
Bayleys Canterbury general
manager Pete Whalan said he
was proud to be working
with the Crusaders to deliver
an important message to Kiwi
kids.
“The Crusaders sporting
prowess, combined with the
team’s reputation in the wider
community and the easilyapproachable
persona of the
Crusaders horses, will enable
the anti-bullying message to be
spread among the key audiences
throughout the country.”
The book has been written by
Friday Creative’s Katy Clook, and
illustrated by Kophie Hulsbosch.
There is also advice in it for
parents.
The books can be pre-ordered
on the BNZ Crusaders website,
and will be sold for $20 at the
Crusaders home games against
the Highlanders on July 6 and the
Blues on July 14.
Proceeds go to Bayleys’
principal charity, Make-A-Wish
New Zealand.
SPORTS
• By Jacob Page
RICCARTON HIGH School
baseball pitcher Jacob Davidson
throws the ball so hard, he hurts
his dad’s hand in practice.
The talented 15-year-old will
be part of the New Zealand
under-15 team to tour Taiwan
next month.
Jacob has been clocked at
112km/h off the mound and his
dad Neil admits his pitches can
sting when they hit his mitt.
“He throws pretty hard,” he
said. “I certainly feel it on my
hand after a while.”
Neil was a key part in setting
up the Selwyn baseball club
in Rolleston, with many of the
teams known as the Selwyn
Braves. Jacob has already been
mentored by former New York
Mets Major League Baseball
pitcher DJ Corasco and that
trend looks set to continue.
Former Atlanta Braves and
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher
Josh Collmenter travels with the
national age-group team.
Collmenter, 32, spent seven
years playing in the major
leagues, with a 38-35 win-loss
record and starting in a third of
TALENT: Jacob Davidson (left) with his mentor DJ Corasco
and DJ’s wife Autumn Lopez. Jacob is off to Taiwan next
month with the New Zealand under-15 team.
PHOTO CARMEN DAVIDSON
his 214 MLB games.
Davidson has already spent
time in the national setup,
earning a silver medal at the
Oceania championships in
January.
It was there he formed a bond
with Corasco and his wife
Autumn Lopez
“I look up to DJ, not only for
what he has achieved but how
cool he was to me,” he said. “He
showed me so much and gave
me a lot of advice on how to deal
with pressure situations.”
Davidson, who is already
185cm tall, used to be a catcher,
and still catches occasionally
when he plays softball.
“Autumn showed him
skills to be a better catcher
but at his height he’s probably
better suited to pitching,” Mr
Davidson said.
Jacob said he was eager to
improve his four-seam fastball,
two-seam fastball, curve ball
and change-up, to become a
more dominant pitcher.
“I don’t know how far I want
to go, but I just want to play as
much as possible,” he said.