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July 4, 2008
By Paul Johnson Special to the Beacon News
It’s been quite a whirlwind for recent Marmion graduate Robert Reder in the world of fastpitch softball.
His grandfather, Bob, and father, Robin, are a part of the long-time tradition of the sport in Aurora. And after an appearance with Team USA at the International Softball Federation Junior Men’s World Fast Pitch Championship, Robert has joined that tradition as well.
Reder caught every other game for Team USA — which finished 5-6 at the tournament — which was held at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, from June 20-29.
Two years ago, Robert Reder was discovered subbing for his father’s team and suddenly found himself playing for the 19U national team.
“I was surprised I made the team,” Reder said. “Usually there is a national tournament that the kids play in, and I never went to one. I just filled in for a team and someone there knew (national team coach Tim Lyon) and told him about me. It was really cool.”
Twelve countries were represented at the tournament, which was won by Australia. For Reder, it was the first time that he had ever left the country and had the chance to interact with so many people from such diverse backgrounds, one of the highlights of the trip.
“I hung out with a lot of kids from New Zealand and Argentina,” Reder said. “Argentina had a couple of translators with them. It was kind of funny. The New Zealanders have that cool accent, and they were all big boys. It was fun off the field getting to know everyone. They’re just teenagers like us.”
Prior to heading up to the Yukon Territory, the team played some games in Utah to prepare for the world championships. From Salt Lake City, the team flew 2½ hours to Vancouver and had a layover before flying another 2½ hours to Whitehorse.
“The travel was kind of frustrating,” Reder said. “It took a whole day to get up there. The airport in Whitehorse is a lot smaller than Chicago. That was weird. And I didn’t expect it to be that much colder up there. It was about 60 the whole time.”
Reder will still play softball “here and there, whenever I can” the rest of the summer. He has not closed the door on his baseball career either. He is headed to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in the fall and will try to walk on to the baseball team.
But softball is suddenly on Reder’s radar for years to come.
“I still like baseball,” Reder said. “I don’t really have a preference. After college, hopefully I get to play baseball, but after that, I’m sure I’ll be coming back and playing for my dad’s team (Dolan & Murphy). It’s a family thing.”