Football commentator Alan Hansen famously claimed you ''will win nothing with kids''.
That does not bother the Otago softball team, which might be at long odds to win the Jefferies Cup in Christchurch this weekend but will not go down without a fight.
Coach Aran Bailey has named what must be the youngest Otago team in the history of the South Island tournament.
Remarkably, every player bar two - Doug Hill and captain Cam Watts, who is only 20 - is eligible for the under-19 team.
''We will be looking to utilise the youth and speed in the team to our advantage,'' Bailey said, grinning.
If you are good enough, you are old enough, and Otago has some genuinely promising hitting talent in its squad.
Watts, younger brother Matt, Hoani Iva-Keen and Mitchell Finnie can light it up at the plate, but will encounter vastly superior pitching in Christchurch to what they encounter every week at Ellis Park.
Black Sox pitcher Kurt Schollum is on the mound for Marlborough, and - regrettably, at least in the eyes of Otago fans - Ben Watts, the third brother in the talented family, is now playing for Canterbury.
Otago's pitching duties fall to the extremely promising Jacob Wedlock, who will get a good sense of the demands of higher-level softball.
''It's a tough ask for Jacob to carry the pitching responsibilities for the tournament,'' Bailey said.
''But he has come a long way since playing a support role last year and is pitching very well. It's a chance for him to step up and face off against some strong batting line-ups.''
Otago's first game is against Marlborough at 9am tomorrow morning. It also plays Canterbury (1pm) and Southland (5pm) tomorrow, before completing the round robin against Nelson on Sunday (11am).
Canterbury is aiming to win the tournament for a 20th straight season.
