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The New Zealand women’s softball team, the White Sox, begin their World Cup qualifier campaign against some of the world’s best on Sunday, but captain Dr Lara Andrews says a world ranking can’t measure the team’s greatest strength.
White Sox captain Dr Lara Andrews (Ngāti Ruanui) said representing Aotearoa New Zealand carries a deep sense of legacy, whānau and responsibility.
That legacy stretches across generations of players, from the wāhine who paved the way before them to the rangatahi coming through now.
“I truly believe that that’s the uniqueness of the New Zealand softball programme and something that we have that not many other countries would have,” Andrews said.
“And I think that’s our superpower.”
The current squad has sisters, father-daughter duos and former White Sox and Black Sox players who return to coach and support the next generation.
Many of the athletes are also following in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents who have worn the fern.
Andrews has been part of the White Sox programme since she was 15, first learning from some of the biggest names in New Zealand softball, including World Hall of Famers Rhonda Hira and Melisa Tupuivao.
Now, many of the players she once coached as rangatahi were her teammates.
“I just feel very honoured and blessed to have learned from some awesome wāhine toa who taught me so much, not only just about softball, but in life,” Andrews said.
“And then now I just feel really blessed to be playing alongside some future superstars of the game and to be able to give them all of the stuff that I was given.”
Andrews is a trailblazer herself.
She became the first New Zealand female softballer to play in the US Professional Fastpitch League and the first wāhine to reach 100 caps for the NZ White Sox.
She said those experiences allowed her to bring together what she had learned overseas with the “New Zealand way” of playing the game.
“I went from being a 15-year-old in the New Zealand Women’s White Sox programme and being that kind of rookie, the young kid, being able to learn, soak up everything,” she said.
“Then you kind of move into this pursuit of excellence… and then after that, I then became a leader.”
That leadership has extended beyond the softball diamond. Andrews runs clinics for tamariki and rangatahi around the country, teaching skills while using the sport to help young people navigate life.
“The kids thought I was teaching them softball,” she said.
“But my goal was to teach them about managing life and using softball as the platform to do that.”
Now she saw some of those young players alongside her in the White Sox.
Strong whānau connections and tikanga were what created a sense of responsibility within the team, she said.
“We don’t want to let our whānau down.
“So we put pressure on ourselves a little bit there because there is that strong legacy link versus actually worrying about the opposition.”
That legacy will be on display when the White Sox take the field for the 2026 WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Group Stage - Oklahoma City.
The whakataetae will run from September 12-16, with NZ competing in a six-team group alongside the USA, China, Netherlands, Mexico and Brazil.
“You’ve got to play the best to be the best,” Andrews said.
“For us to be here and be in a bracket with five other countries who are in the top 15 in the world is a really good opportunity for us to really showcase who we are, what we’re about.
“This is our opportunity to really shine a light on the New Zealand White Sox and New Zealand softball as a whole.”
Haka ki te ao
Andrews said taking the haka onto the international stage was always an emotional experience, particularly after spending much of her adulthood overseas.
“To be able to come back, to catch up with the reo again, because the reo has evolved over time, and to reconnect to your roots, is a good foundation to then be able to be confident to get out there and actually perform our cultural obligations,” she said.
The haka draws on atua wāhine, and Andrews said the team had been learning about the atua together as a rōpū.
“Sharing the journey together, learning about different atua, their reasons, their purpose, their roles, and then how we connect that to us as humans, and as a unit, and as a rōpū, is really special.”
The haka was also part of how the team acknowledged and celebrated one another.
When a player reaches a milestone, or a new player makes their debut, the team used the haka as a way of recognising their achievements and those who have supported them.
“So it’s not just for, I guess, a showcase on a global stage,” she said.
“It is also a part of how we recognise and celebrate each other in our programme.”
‘It truly takes a village’
Behind the international performances is the financial and personal sacrifice required to get there.
The White Sox include young māmā, full-time workers and students, with players often having to fundraise thousands of dollars to help cover the cost of representing their country.
Andrews said getting the team to the world stage “truly takes a village”.
It starts with whānau, then extends to clubs, associations, former players, supporters and the wider softball community.
“This is an ongoing challenge for us, and has been for a long time,” Andrews said.
“But we don’t feel that this is a barrier or a limitation for us as a team. Doing that mahi and building our village actually gives us strength,” she said.
“So turning that into a positive, turning that into something that can motivate and drive us, is how we have to look at it.”
As the White Sox prepare for their campaign to qualify for the World Cup Finals, which ultimately is a journey towards qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA, Andrews said the team were carrying the voices of those who came before them, and the hopes of the rangatahi coming next.
“We’ve got an awesome group of female athletes sitting around the room,” she said.
“I’m really excited about the potential of this rōpū, and where this rōpū is going to take softball. I think there’s a real bright future ahead of us, and this is just the start of the journey.”
The New Zealand White Sox will face off against World No.6 Netherlands on Sunday at 9 am NZT.
All games will be streamed on Gametime.sport.
Nā Layla Bailey-McDowell nō RNZ
