Doughnutman is out there now. His team is 7-0 and seeded 10th. Be interesting to see how they do in the tourney.

redsox8191,

Yes, we're ready to rock. We just played in a warmup tourney in Branford, CT this past weekend (and won, thank you )).

We're the RI Wolfpack and will be there Aug. 3-10th. Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be without 2 of our players, as the two teams in our state LL championship both have 2 players from our AAU team.

Let's try to say "hi" that week, maybe watch a little of each other's sons?

Sandman

I'm coaching so I'll be there all the time..lol. We almost had the same situation as 2 of our players Ripken All-Star team made it regionals but they lost so we will all be there ready to play. We have a couple of scrimmages this weekend to prepare for next week. We are checking in early on friday. I have a blinking eyed pin for your son so tell him not to trade with anyone from our team. He can trade with my son Mike. As we get closer to heading out and see when our teams are playing etc we can make plans on meeting up to at least say Hi and such. I'm getting excited as we leave in 1 week!!

Doughnutman

Nice run out there by your son's team!! Must have been exciting having won all the preliminary games and being ranked so high. Waiting for your playoff game must have been tough though as it was later on Wednesday then most. Hope you guys had a blast!!

Redsox et al,
Yes, the time is coming!
Kids are getting excited.
Parents are getting nervous.
So much of our time has been spent geting ready. Now we'll have to see what we can do.
Yes we are flying into Albany on Thursday and will arrive in Cooperstown on Friday. We have a "lodge" that 4 families are sharing. Might be party central.
I expect a lot of late evenings spent on what was, what could have been, and what should be around the communal table.
I hope for good performances from our players and tolerant parents (we have one you can hear from the next county)
and maybe a chance to make new friends all around.
Rollerman

Sandman & Rollerman

We should find out our schedules shortly. Be kinda cool if we ended up playing against each other!!

I'm a coach so I get to live the good life in the village with the boys...What was I thinking!! lmao!!

Lets hope for sunny skies and nice temps!!

Thanks for the encouragement RedSox. It was a blast! We lost in the sweet sixteen round in 8 innings. We were up 3-2 in the top of the 8th until our pitcher got one up to a 6 foot, 250 lb. kid with two on and two out.

We lost 5-3 on a walk off.

I couldn't be prouder of all of the kids. They played their hearts out, never gave up, and helped keep everyone's head up and in the game.

We had one game where we were down 7-1, then 9-7, then 12-9. We won 15-12 when my son hit a two out, walk off grand slam to end the game.

It doesn't get any better than that!!

doughnutman

That had to be awesome having your son hit a walkoff grand slam!!! I just hope my son has some success at the plate and sees some mound time.

You guys had a pretty good team to go 7-0 in regular play, they should be proud!!

Sandman and Rollerman

Do you know what skill competition your son will be competing in? My son is 5' 6" tall and a solid 140lbs so needless to say he will NOT be our roadrunner competitior! He made our teams finals for golen arm but lost out in the last round as a kid hit the terget in the air on his first 3 throws. He also made the homerun hitting finals but came up short in that one too. so he will most likely man 1B or the OF for the around the horn plus competition.

Here's a tip; ALWAYS make sure you score at least one more run than the team you're playing! Evidently that's the ONLY way to win the game, we didn't do that and lost our first tournament game after being seeded 3rd and getting a couple of byes in the championship week last year.

PS Doughnutman, my older son plays on the same team as Max Sapp who holds the Cooperstown record for home runs in a week. Max said he was 6'2" 250 at 12, a lot like the kid you saw. That's WAY too big for those small fields.

quote:

Originally posted by Innocent Bystander:
Max said he was 6'2" 250 at 12....

And how big is he now?

Redsox.
My son qualified for the "golden arm" competition.
He will not be doing any other skills event because he qualified for that one.(they could use him in left field) Your son would have done pretty well in our "roadrunner" event. We used a callender to time our "runners"

Staying with the kids over the week! I hope you had your valium presciption filled!
Do you have some idea as to when they will release the schedule? I'm looking forward to lining things out with the competition.
Rollerman

How big is he now? Says he hasn't grown since he was 12 but was much bulkier at twelve, he's listed at 220 but I'd say 250-260 is more like it! I'm 220 and he's twice my size!

rollerman

Ya i'm a fool for coaching but it was my last chance to coach my son at the youth level so what better way to go out then cooperstown!!

I believe that the schedule will be coming out tomorrow at some point, with any luck maybe tonight..lol.

My son will likely only be in the "around the horn" comp, not sure where yet. I think we're going to work that out at practice Thurs. night. He's only 4'11-1/2" and 105 lbs, so HR derby wasn't happening when we have several post-pubes. He's also not the fastest (nor slowest).

I am a coach on this AAU team and was asked to stay in the barracks, but my son actually wanted some space for a change (as I've been his coach since T-Ball). My wife and I thought it prudent for HIS development. We've rented a nearby home for my wife, daughter and a friend.

Also, I'll tell my son if he sees anyone from the New Hampshire Diamond Devils trading a blinking eye pin (our team has a blinking eye wolf) to make sure he's trading w/ "Mike".

Sandman

so you have the best of both worlds? coaching and not staying in the barracks!!! Lucky guy!

You guys know I'm going to look foolish asking around for "Sandman" and "Rollerman"

Perhaps you could share your real names and son's names even if through a pm to me...lol. That might be helpful in actually meeting up at some point!

quote:

Originally posted by redsox8191:
You guys know I'm going to look foolish asking around for "Sandman" and "Rollerman"

Don't laugh, last year at Nationals, "JeffConnel" was asking our coaches where "Beezer" was. They were probably looking at him like...

Hmmm....looking at past years I won't mind playing against the Rhode Island wolfpack as you guys get seeded around where we do but I don't want any part of the Fresno Blue Devils!! you guys are the typical CA team going 7-0 or 6-1 and making the final 8 or better in the tournament..Heck in 2002 & 2003 they came in 2nd I saw!!

Redsox;
You have a PM.
Our team has a colorful history and each has its own personality.
We can only hope to continue the tradition. I don't have a good handle on how we stack up against the others, I only know that in the last month we've been working pretty hard.
Rollerman

quote:

Originally posted by redsox8191:
Hmmm....looking at past years I won't mind playing against the Rhode Island wolfpack as you guys get seeded around where we do but I don't want any part of the Fresno Blue Devils!! you guys are the typical CA team going 7-0 or 6-1 and making the final 8 or better in the tournament..Heck in 2002 & 2003 they came in 2nd I saw!!

For the record, the Wolf Pack only has 3 players from last year. We have 2 very good pitchers (one is 6'1", the other a few inches shorter). They both bring it low 70s with nasty deuces. Every player on our team has hit HRs too. I'm not saying we're going there to beat all the CA, FL, TX, AZ teams, but... we are a bit more legit than last year's team.

Also, I don't mind publicly sharing that my name is Mike and I coach the Wolf Pack (Ramblers during AAU season). However, I may not actually be on the fields at this tourney, unless the head coach has enough funds left to spring for another $600 (because you have to pay even if you don't stay in the barracks, which I think is crazy).