Mark Harris (born 29 March 1985) is an Australian IT administrator, athlete and coach who played softball for the Australian Steelers

fastpitch softball Fastpitch softball, or simply fastpitch, is a form of softball played by both women and men. While the teams are most often segregated by sex, coed fast-pitch leagues also exist. Considered the most competitive form of softball, fastpitch is the ...

team. Harris was first selected by the Steelers in 2010 to play in a Tri-Series against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

at Hawker Park, ACT. Harris played in the 2013 and 2015 World Series Fastpitch Team with the Steelers

Personal

Harris was born on 29 March 1985 in

Derby, Western Australia Derby ( ) is a town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. At the 2016 census, Derby had a population of 3,325 with 47.2% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent. Along with Broome and Kununurra, it is one of only three town ...

. Soon after his birth, the Harris family moved to Perth. Harris attended

Sevenoaks Senior College Sevenoaks Senior College is a comprehensive public co-educational high day school, located in Cannington, southeast of Perth, Western Australia, close to the Cannington railway station. Opened in 2001, the school is a senior secondary campus ...

. In 2003, he started attending

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public research university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is, , t ...

, where he studied

Sports Science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...

. After university, In 2009, Harris moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. He is currently working as an IT Projects Administrator for the

West Coast Eagles Football Club The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

in Perth In 2015 Harris announced his engagement to Leah Brenton in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Softball

Harris has played

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and occasionally

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. Harris originally started in softball as an

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

and then coach, with over 350 games experience. He started playing the sport at the age of 17. In 2003 and 2009, he suffered shoulder injuries that took him out of play, but he recovered from them.

Steelers appearances

*2010 - Tri-Series, ACT Canberra - New Zealand, Argentina *2011 - Friendship Series, Argentina *2012 - 2013 World Series Qualifiers, ACT Canberra -

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, PNG *2013 - World Series,

Auckland New Zealand Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

/ Trans-Tasman Series, Auckland New Zealand - New Zealand vs Australia *2014 - 2015 World Series Qualifiers, Auckland New Zealand - Samoa, New Zealand *2015 - World Series,

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Canada

Western Blaze appearances

*2005 -

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

*2006 -

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

*2007 - Sydney *2008 - *2009 - *2011 -

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

*2012 - Sydney *2013 -

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

*2014 -

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

*2015 - Brisbane While with the Blaze, Harris won MVP Trophies in 2013 and 2011. He makes appearances behind the dish and also plays Leftfield. In 2014 he made his debut on the pitching rubber which was short lived however, he's since pitched again in 2015 with better results.

Coaching

*2004 - SEMSA Association Junior Head Coach, Perth *2005 - State Under 19's Assistant Coach, Tasmania *2006 - State Under 19's Assistant Coach, Canberra *2010 - State Under 16's Head Coach, in Sydney *2015 - State Under 17's Head Coach, in

*2016 - Appointed as the Under 17's Head Coach, in Perth Harris had previously attained his coaching certifications and has since re-certified as a level 2 coach. Harris has helped develop Softball clinics in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Club & Association level

Harris started his career at Dale Districts Men's Softball Association in which he's won 4 Runner-Up MVP's along with one MVP Trophy. He also played with the Bandits, Rebels, Breakaways, Animals, Bayswater and Western Cobras. Most of his club level softball has been with Bayswater Morley Softball Club. In 2014 Harris was the winner of the Newcrest Softball WA Spirit Award. Over a period of eight years Harris has join Toowoomba Softball Association at the Brisbane State Championships 7 times.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Mark 1985 births Living people Softball players from Perth, Western Australia