RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent An Australian player carries an inflatable kangaroo as teams are paraded onto the field at Volunteer Stadium to mark the beginning of the 75th Little League World Series on Wednesday.

Australia manager Keith Land more than knows the challenges his team faces before they even stepped foot in South Williamsport for the Little League World Series. It had nothing to do with the opponents that lay before them, either. It’s about the layoff prior to coming to the Series.

That’s because Australia wa the first of the 20 Little League representatives to secure a spot in South Williamsport, and that happens in the beginning of June.

“We haven’t played any real games in six weeks. A lot of these other teams are coming in hot from match play, but we didn’t have that luxury,” Land said after a loss to Italy on Saturday to eliminate Australia from title contention. “We started out alright, but I guess not the physical side but mental toughness of going for six innings, it kind of fell away a bit. But boys are boys, it’s a game and it’s the way it rolls.”

Land’s team secured a state title in April to qualify for regionals after going 4-1 and winning the state title with an extra-inning walk-off victory.

“We’re a really small region, only 40 players in our whole region to pick from, so when we went to nationals, the matchups weren’t very good. When we got on a bit of a roll, though, it was like ‘whoa, hang on a second,'” Land said.

Australia finished 5-1 with the loss coming to the team they would eventually beat in the championship game. And getting to the Series was special for Land and his Australian all-stars by being the first team from Brisbane North Region Little League to qualify for the Series.

“We beat them to punch our ticket to get here. It’s the first time ever that a team from Brisbane North has ever made it,” Land said. “Everybody wants to get a win, but I’m proud of the boys for the way they presented themselves. Off the field they’ve been awesome and I think that happened the other night when we played Canada and it showed (Saturday against Italy).”

While having a lengthy layoff between playing in regionals and playing at the Series is a bit daunting and tough, Land and his assistant coaches Chris Clem and Shane Wilson kept the players in shape and practicing to have them ready for South Williamsport.

“We do pitching training on Monday night and hitting on Wednesday night. One of the coaches has an MMA gym, so we do that on a Friday night,” Land said. “We have all sorts of things. We train for about five hours a week and after that, they want to do more. I can’t doubt them or question them for their commitment and the way they want to play.”

Being the first team from Brisbane North to qualify for the Series is something that the Australian players haven’t fully realized the magnitude yet of what they accomplished. But Land knows once things settle down, it’ll sink in.

“It’s very overwhelming, but I think when it sinks in and they get home (they’ll realize it). The support back home has been outstanding. I think it’ll be different. We had a boy on that team, it was his first year ever playing baseball and one of those dreams that Little League talks about and it’s like a dream come true,” Land said. “He wins a state title, then a national title, and now he comes to Williamsport. That kid will be hooked for the rest of his life, and that’s just his first year. It’s a great success story in itself. Hopefully what we’ve done here will encourage more and more boys and girls to play.”

And that increase in kids wanting to play is something Land has already seen. The league in Australia already had its sign ups for next season, and Land noted the numbers in the region have gone up significantly. And that’s a large part because of Brisbane North’s run to get to South Williamsport and qualify for the Little League World Series, especially being a smaller league having that amount of success.

“Everyone wants to play now because they’ve read our story. Hopefully the winner will be baseball if we get more players and more people involved to try to raise (participation). I think our standard has gone up over the years,” Land said. “It’s like life, there’s always room for improvement and hopefully we can improve and come back as an Australian team and represent our country.”

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which also carried into 2021, made things difficult for teams everywhere, and Australia was no exception. The pandemic canceled any tournaments in 2020, and in 2021, only the major baseball division had tournaments conclude at regionals and a World Series.

The recognition from getting to the Series this year is something Land sees as nothing but beneficial and helpful for participation to increase in the region.

“Much so, and the national titles too, and teams from all over Australia. All those teams are successful to popularize back home. If that team of (small numbers) can do it, why not bigger regions? So I think it will flow across Australia,” Land said.

The fact Australia went 0-2 at the Series isn’t what’s important. For Land and his all-stars, the fact they’re gaining exposure for their league back home and increasing participation numbers is bigger than any win.