July 4, 2025 • 6 mins
The Black Sox are about to embark on their 2025 World Cup campaign, heading across the world to Canada.
Canterbury pitcher Liam Potts is on the squad, and joined Lesley Murdoch for a chat about his journey to the highest level of the game.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, let's go over to Canada and catch up with
Probably I have always thought that the pitch is the
most important person in a softball team. So let's go
over and chat to Black Sox number two three two.
He is Liam Pops and of course he's from PCU,
Parkland's christ Church United Here, Liam, good morning, Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
How's it going?
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Oh good, thank you. So look, you're what twenty one
years of.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Age, Yeah, about to turn twenty two in August.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
And you're playing probably the majority of the year you're softball. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
I spend a lot of my time just playing softball
in studying sports science at the University of Canterbury.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Oh fantastic. How you doing with that?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
We're beginning by excellent sing a lot longer than what
they tell me it is, but it's good. I enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Well, you're lucky that you can combine both, really, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Oh it's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
It works out so well, like I could just go
overseas play softball and just do it while I'm over there.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Works out amazingly actually.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Oh fantastic. So for our listeners, tell us a little
bit about your history. How you started playing softball, why
you decided to be the picture twenty one into the
Black Sox and you've got a World Cup coming up.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, World Cup's coming up in a couple of days.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
I got into softball because I originally lived in Auckland, Koey, Auckland,
and then my dad got a job after the earthquake
and we moved to crash through It. I started off
playing rugby like I was quite into that, and then
my rugby coach one year came up to my parents
and asked if we what we did in the summer.
They didn't say anything. They thought having the summer off
was going to be great for the sport. But yeah,
(01:36):
it turns out he had ultimatum and we started playing
softball from there. Then after that, like a couple of years.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
In that picture, he didn't really throw stripes and all.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
That, and I kind of got sick of losing, so
I just took upon myself to train all winter, proved
to my coach that I can pitch. So came back
the next season and was a picture from then and
have been since on.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Because let's face it, it's one to underarm the ball
at the catcher and at the batter. It's another to
be spinning it along, being able to curve it this
way and that way. I mean, it's a terrific I've
looked at some of your YouTube stuff and tough on
the bottom, you know, the torso and the twist and turn,
isn't it on the hips?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yeah, It's taken a long time to get to the
point I am, and to like have the amount of
control I have over my body to be able to
do that almost every single time is actually quite remarkable
when you think about it.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
So when did you start playing, say for Parklands and
then obviously into the canny Red Sox and then your
elevation into the Black Sox. I mean how long did
that process take?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Probably about three years to be honest, I was still
in high school, was about to quit software. Actually my
old club didn't make it too enjoyable for me, and
I then decided I'm just going to focus on rugby.
But then one of the coaches from PCU will Miss
and say, hey, mate, come play for us. So I
went and played for them for the under eighteen team.
Refound the love of my game, and then I finished
(03:05):
high school through there and then that people started noticing me.
I started made the Canopy Red Sotops teams. I think
about two years later when I was nineteen. From that
year on I had when I made the Red Sox team,
I had a pretty pretty good season, and yeah, then
I got called into the Blackstops after the World Cup.
I've just gone through that process from the last World
(03:26):
Cup into this one.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Sounds like a meteoric rise to the top for me.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yeah, I just got to put the bud, just put
the foot down and went from there.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
So apart from playing the game and perfecting your pitching technique,
what other things have you had to do?
Speaker 3 (03:42):
I was lucky enough to get given the opportunity to
train the High Performance Sport New Zealand. So I've been
working alongside some of the best in New Zealand helping
me grow my game, like making specific workout plans for me,
helping like recover my body, give me life coaching, all
that kind of stuff. Like it's just it's mean my
life so much easier. And they've given me direction on
how to go and we're to pursue and how to
(04:05):
actually like get.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
The most out of what I do.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
So I've had a lot of supporting areas like that
through that program. And yeah, it's been really enjoyable. Like
I've loved the entire process.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
To get here.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Was that out at Jolly Park Yep?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah, out there right.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Fantastic. Really, that is pretty cool to hear that. And
of course when you're out there and especially in the
weights room, etc. There's lots of other different athletes that
must be handy.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Oh yeah, it's so cool seeing so many different athletes
from different sports training there. Like I've seen Cody Taylor
from the All Blacks from there. He's extremely big, so.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
As Tom Walsh like I've seen him and as there
as well, like people have seen playing on TV. Got
to train next to and watch train and see the
effort that actually gets put in. So it's actually quite incredible.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Oh fantastic. That's really cool. So you've got to the top.
You've got probably approximately I think ten caps for the
Blacks and now, as you mentioned, you've got the World
Cup coming up Saskatchewan then in Canada.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Yeah, yeah, Adam, Prince Albert.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
They're good teams, like they they have very powerful teams.
They love swinging the bat. So we just got to
trust that our training has done.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Enough to be able to beat them.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
So as softball professional for you do you make a
living out of it?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Not really?
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Like I like, they can bring you over, give you
a little bit of like, give you a little bit
of something to like, help you stay your time over
there to make a little bit more comfortable.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
But still got to go back home and work and
all that.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
And what do you like with the bat?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Non existent?
Speaker 1 (05:50):
No.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
I that's the beauty about pitching. I don't have to
worry about thing. I can literally just focus on pitching
the ball and just that's my only job. I don't
have to worry about heading or the offense of it,
any of that. I get to trust the boys and
hope and let them scooll me runs and I'll keep
them down or try my best to keep the teams down.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Looking forward to saying how you get on against Japan.
You've got our interest piqued, that's for sure. And look,
it's been fantastic great to chat to you. And all
we can say is go really well, be fantastic and great. Hey, look,
thanks so much and all the very best, go really well.
We're right behind you, sick.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio,
Well, let's go over to Canada and catch up with
Probably I have always thought that the pitch is the
most important person in a softball team. So let's go
over and chat to Black Sox number two three two.
He is Liam Pops and of course he's from PCU,
Parkland's christ Church United Here, Liam, good morning, Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
How's it going?
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Oh good, thank you. So look, you're what twenty one
years of.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Age, Yeah, about to turn twenty two in August.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
And you're playing probably the majority of the year you're softball. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
I spend a lot of my time just playing softball
in studying sports science at the University of Canterbury.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Oh fantastic. How you doing with that?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
We're beginning by excellent sing a lot longer than what
they tell me it is, but it's good. I enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Well, you're lucky that you can combine both, really, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Oh it's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
It works out so well, like I could just go
overseas play softball and just do it while I'm over there.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Works out amazingly actually.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Oh fantastic. So for our listeners, tell us a little
bit about your history. How you started playing softball, why
you decided to be the picture twenty one into the
Black Sox and you've got a World Cup coming up.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, World Cup's coming up in a couple of days.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
I got into softball because I originally lived in Auckland, Koey, Auckland,
and then my dad got a job after the earthquake
and we moved to crash through It. I started off
playing rugby like I was quite into that, and then
my rugby coach one year came up to my parents
and asked if we what we did in the summer.
They didn't say anything. They thought having the summer off
was going to be great for the sport. But yeah,
(01:36):
it turns out he had ultimatum and we started playing
softball from there. Then after that, like a couple of years.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
In that picture, he didn't really throw stripes and all.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
That, and I kind of got sick of losing, so
I just took upon myself to train all winter, proved
to my coach that I can pitch. So came back
the next season and was a picture from then and
have been since on.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Because let's face it, it's one to underarm the ball
at the catcher and at the batter. It's another to
be spinning it along, being able to curve it this
way and that way. I mean, it's a terrific I've
looked at some of your YouTube stuff and tough on
the bottom, you know, the torso and the twist and turn,
isn't it on the hips?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yeah, It's taken a long time to get to the
point I am, and to like have the amount of
control I have over my body to be able to
do that almost every single time is actually quite remarkable
when you think about it.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
So when did you start playing, say for Parklands and
then obviously into the canny Red Sox and then your
elevation into the Black Sox. I mean how long did
that process take?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Probably about three years to be honest, I was still
in high school, was about to quit software. Actually my
old club didn't make it too enjoyable for me, and
I then decided I'm just going to focus on rugby.
But then one of the coaches from PCU will Miss
and say, hey, mate, come play for us. So I
went and played for them for the under eighteen team.
Refound the love of my game, and then I finished
(03:05):
high school through there and then that people started noticing me.
I started made the Canopy Red Sotops teams. I think
about two years later when I was nineteen. From that
year on I had when I made the Red Sox team,
I had a pretty pretty good season, and yeah, then
I got called into the Blackstops after the World Cup.
I've just gone through that process from the last World
(03:26):
Cup into this one.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Sounds like a meteoric rise to the top for me.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yeah, I just got to put the bud, just put
the foot down and went from there.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
So apart from playing the game and perfecting your pitching technique,
what other things have you had to do?
Speaker 3 (03:42):
I was lucky enough to get given the opportunity to
train the High Performance Sport New Zealand. So I've been
working alongside some of the best in New Zealand helping
me grow my game, like making specific workout plans for me,
helping like recover my body, give me life coaching, all
that kind of stuff. Like it's just it's mean my
life so much easier. And they've given me direction on
how to go and we're to pursue and how to
(04:05):
actually like get.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
The most out of what I do.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
So I've had a lot of supporting areas like that
through that program. And yeah, it's been really enjoyable. Like
I've loved the entire process.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
To get here.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Was that out at Jolly Park Yep?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah, out there right.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Fantastic. Really, that is pretty cool to hear that. And
of course when you're out there and especially in the
weights room, etc. There's lots of other different athletes that
must be handy.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Oh yeah, it's so cool seeing so many different athletes
from different sports training there. Like I've seen Cody Taylor
from the All Blacks from there. He's extremely big, so.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
As Tom Walsh like I've seen him and as there
as well, like people have seen playing on TV. Got
to train next to and watch train and see the
effort that actually gets put in. So it's actually quite incredible.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Oh fantastic. That's really cool. So you've got to the top.
You've got probably approximately I think ten caps for the
Blacks and now, as you mentioned, you've got the World
Cup coming up Saskatchewan then in Canada.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Yeah, yeah, Adam, Prince Albert.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
They're good teams, like they they have very powerful teams.
They love swinging the bat. So we just got to
trust that our training has done.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Enough to be able to beat them.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
So as softball professional for you do you make a
living out of it?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Not really?
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Like I like, they can bring you over, give you
a little bit of like, give you a little bit
of something to like, help you stay your time over
there to make a little bit more comfortable.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
But still got to go back home and work and
all that.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
And what do you like with the bat?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Non existent?
Speaker 1 (05:50):
No.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
I that's the beauty about pitching. I don't have to
worry about thing. I can literally just focus on pitching
the ball and just that's my only job. I don't
have to worry about heading or the offense of it,
any of that. I get to trust the boys and
hope and let them scooll me runs and I'll keep
them down or try my best to keep the teams down.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Looking forward to saying how you get on against Japan.
You've got our interest piqued, that's for sure. And look,
it's been fantastic great to chat to you. And all
we can say is go really well, be fantastic and great. Hey, look,
thanks so much and all the very best, go really well.
We're right behind you, sick.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio,
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