Giants

            I hope everyone is having a great summer. It is hard to believe school is only a few weeks away which of course means that sign ups for the 2009-2010 season is just around the corner in October. As many of you probably know, the NCLL Senior All-Star team is heading for Bangor, Maine to play in the Senior Division World Series. The Senior All-Stars have had an amazing journey. They were District, Section, Division and (on Tuesday) Regional Champions. Many people watched them play in Redwood City, Stockton and followed them to Ontario to watch them become the first team in District 14 history to represent the Western United States in the Senior (or any) Little League tournament. The Senior players left today for Bangor, Maine where they will take off there NCLL jersey and put on the West jersey. I am still in awe of this accomplishment. Like many of you, I have had the pleasure of watching these players grow up on the NCLL fields. By the time players reach the Senior age of 15 and 16, they are pulled in many different directions which is why we often see a limited number of teams in the upper divisions. NCLL’s sense of community often beckons players and their families to stay involved in Little League and Niles-Centerville. When I look at the players that make up this Senior team, I also see the wonderful families that have long been involved at NCLL. As a group, they have spent countless hours as managers, coaches, team parents, scorekeepers, snack bar volunteers, umpires and board members. Many of them have donated time, skills and money to make Niles Centerville the best league in Fremont and, in my opinion, all of Little League. The players and their families are truly what Little League had in mind when they set up the All-Star tournament-a group of local kids (although I use this term loosely because they are really young men) that come together for a short amount of time and play as a team. If you have had the pleasure of seeing one or more of there games, you have been treated to watching a group of young men play America’s past time for the joy of just playing the game. This sense of having fun has carried them farther then anyone could have anticipated. I am sure we will all talk about the 2009 tournament season for many years to come.

            As many of you probably realize, the travel costs involved for each family to support their player was not something that could be planned. NCLL would like to support the Senior All-Star team and their families with not only our cheers but we would also like to help take care of some of the costs involved. We realize it has been a tough economic year for all of us. The Niles Centerville community has always amazed me with its support in good times as well as tough times. NCLL is looking for donations so that we can support members of our baseball community as they travel across the Untied States and take part in an experience most of us only dreamed about. Please pass this message along to your teams. Any donation would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be mailed to NCLL, P.O. Box 2604, Fremont, 94536. Thanks again for continued support and I look forward to seeing each one of you in the 2009-2010 season.

…Moira Jacobs

   NCLL President