White Sox Selection

Friday, 24th March 2023 at 3:01pm

Selected for the 2023 World Series NZ White Sox team travelling to Buttrio, Italy. Loran Parker is a Green Bay High School alumni (class of 2014) and a pitcher for the New Zealand White Sox.

Let's help Loran get onto her field of dreams! Give-A-Little fundraising page.
Social media: @lo_lo_nz @nzwhitesox**

Want to know more? Check out Loran's Report below:

My name is Loran Parker and I am a Green Bay High School alumni (class of 2014) and a pitcher for the New Zealand White Sox. I started in the sport when I was 5 years old and played Tee ball for my primary school (Titirangi Primary) and have been able to work my way up the grades while pursuing my studies.

I started at Green Bay High School in 2010 and found a love for the sciences, particularly Biology and Chemistry, and English. I had amazing teachers who pushed me to do well especially in these subjects and helped me to cultivate an interest in a career in healthcare. Of those teachers the most influential was my English teacher Jon Bacarella. I still believe that I would not have been as successful in my education at school and on into university as I have been without the effort he invested in me.

I had so many opportunities at GBHS to join sports teams and groups that have been important in my journey towards becoming a White Sox player. I joined the school’s softball team which turned out to become one of the school’s most successful sports teams in its history. In my year 9 season we won the Division Two Secondary School Nationals earning a promotion to Division One. In our second season in Division One we made it to the national finals but fell agonisingly short - coming second in the nation. I was also involved in volleyball and hockey in my time at school.

As soon as I graduated GBHS I took up a full athletic scholarship to Eastern Arizona College in January 2015 and competed in the NJCAA division 1 ACCAC conference. It was a massive change for me as I went from training twice per week and playing one or two games on weekends to training and working out 4 days per week and playing 4 games per week. We were a very successful program qualifying for nationals held in St George, Utah and we started my sophomore year ranked number 1 in the country for our division.

I graduated in 2016 with an Associate Degree in General Studies. I considered staying in the US and transferring to a 4-year university but knew a degree from a New Zealand university was going to be more beneficial in the long run. When I came back to New Zealand I enrolled in the Bachelor of Health Science program at the University of Auckland in 2017 with the thought that I wanted to become a doctor. On starting this degree I quickly realised that medicine was not the career path for me. After my first year I swapped to the Bachelor of Science programme and majored in Nutrition. Still wanting a career in healthcare I was accepted to the Master of Health Science in Nutrition and Dietetics program and started working towards becoming a dietitian in 2021. I completed my thesis on wholegrain labelling in New Zealand and finished my degree in February 2023.

My friends laugh at how long I studied for after high school so I’m glad to finally be done. I recently got a position as a clinical dietitian and will start at Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai with the renal team and will mainly be based at Auckland and Greenlane hospitals working with patients with a range of kidney disorders. I am also the volunteer dietitian for the New Zealand White Sox.

I am currently a member of the Otahuhu Premier women’s softball team. I joined the team in 2014 before I left for Arizona and rejoined when I came back. Our team is currently the top ranked team in the country, having recently won back to back national club titles. We also recently became the most successful women’s team in Auckland softball history on the back of winning the northern fastpitch series for the fourth year in a row. On top of playing for Otahuhu I have also played for UVV in Utrecht, Netherlands and ACT (Australian Capital Territory) among others.

I was first named in the Junior White Sox while at GBHS in 2014. While in Arizona I was named as a non-travelling reserve for the Junior World Series. In 2017 I got the call up into the White Sox and debuted while on tour in Japan. In 2018 I was named in the under-23 Major Sox and competed at the Canada Cup. Unfortunately, I missed out on being named for the 2018 World Series and since then cancellations due to COVID have hampered international competition. With the world becoming more settled and international travel reopening I am fortunate to be able to continue my international career with the White Sox. I have recently been named in this year's World Series team travelling to Buttrio, Italy.

With women’s softball being an unfunded team each player is required to contribute towards the $12,000 tour costs. I have set up a Givealittle page to help reduce the cost (and associated stress) and I will be running some additional fundraisers in the lead up to the tour. All donations of any amount are massively appreciated and will go towards making my dream of playing on the softball world’s biggest stage a reality.