22 Mar 2023
“I hope winning the World Cup has shown my students that they can achieve anything they put their minds to, and that they can create their own path.”
Belconnen High School Physical Education and Health teacher Josh White is an inspiration to his students after representing Australia at the Softball World Cup in New Zealand late last year and bringing home the trophy.
Playing the first baseman position, White was part of the national Aussie Steelers’ team that won the World Cup for only the second time ever after defeating Canada in the grand final.
His journey was made possible with the support of Belconnen High’s executive, teachers and students, many of whom were able to watch his games at school, and who sent him messages of support during the tournament.
“Once we returned (to school) this year, that’s probably more when it sunk in. I was then able to bring the World Cup Trophy into school for an assembly which was a once in a lifetime experience and something I’ll never forget.”
White, a teacher at Belconnen High School for the past two years and Learning Support Assistant (LSA) for five years prior to that, has given back to his sport and school students by coaching softball for the ACT Primary School Sporting Association (PSSA) and passing his knowledge onto his own students and other budding ACT representative students.
White’s connection to softball and his own journey playing for both the Primary and Secondary School Sports Association ACT teams steered him into the teaching profession.
“Deb Sayers was our PSSA and SSSA coach and has led the way with the school sport pathways for softball since before I was in primary school. She has been a role model and inspiration for promoting softball and the teaching profession for me.”
Belconnen High School’s students are set to benefit from White’s experience playing sport at the international level as he believes the translation of sporting focus translates across to his teaching practice.
“I find this is especially evident when talking about mindset and mental wellbeing. I have learnt a lot about Sport Psychology throughout my career as sport and training techniques has evolved and these experiences and lessons can help to make these topics relatable.”
