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This year, success clung to the Delaware Valley 12-and-under Senators like kindergartners to parents on the first day of school. Over a seven-month span, the youngsters collected 51 wins in 63 games, competed against teams from eight states and collected four tournament titles.
The journey concluded earlier this month with an appearance at a prestigious invitational tournament and a trip to their sport’s chief landmark, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, N.Y.
For the 11 overachievers and coach Joe Gorman, the jaunt to the shrine and the contests against renowned opponents served as a fitting conclusion to their 2010 campaign. The boys, all who hail from South Philadelphia, began their trophy hunt in March. It was during the winter that Gorman learned of his team’s inclusion in the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame Invitational Tournament at Cooperstown Dreams Park, which concluded Sept. 3.
“By reputation, it is the top 12U tournament in the country,” Gorman said at the Seventh Street and Packer Avenue complex where his charges have their home games in the South Jersey-based Tri-State Elite League.
Having instructed most of the players since they were 8, Gorman, a resident of the 300 block of Ritner Street, knew they would approach the months leading up to their trip with tireless dedication.
“These guys work hard all year long. They mesh so well and take every opportunity to bond,” Gorman said.
Once at the park, which opened in 1996, Gorman’s gang immediately found itself going against four of the top-11 teams in the 68-squad field. Over 13 weeks each spring and summer, the park hosts numerous tournaments, bringing together mostly East Coast teams and a few California representatives.
Beginning Aug. 29, the Senators played six pool-play games over three days, amassing a 4-2 record. That mark put them through to the single-elimination format, where they fell after two Sept. 1 battles.
“Winning five games was pretty nice,” Gorman said.
Though they could not capture the New York crown, the Senators finished the week ranked 20th. Having interacted with, competed against and defeated teams that recruit, have baseball academies and receive support from Major League Baseball teams, the South Philadelphia athletes maximized the week’s potential with a slew of other experiences. They participated in various skills competitions, securing the sixth position in the “Around the Horn Plus” contest, which involves at least eight players tossing the ball to one another in an attempt to tag bases and designated outfield spots.
The group traded pins, slept in a barrack, received rings and were inducted into the Little League Hall of Fame, which has a wing in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The rings bear the tournament’s 2010 theme, “Live the Dream.”
“It was the best tournament I’ve been to,” Bay To, who primarily pitches for the team, said.
To, who just turned 13, attends Girard Academic Music Program, 22nd and Ritner streets. He is the team’s newest member, but has ingratiated himself with his teammates quickly.
“I loved being in the barracks. I told jokes and stories that put everyone to sleep,” the resident of Tasker and Marshall streets, who like many of his teammates will move to another age level next year, said. “And seeing the history at the [Hall of Fame] museum was awesome.”
Nick D’Amore, 12, primarily an outfielder, enjoyed trading pins and bonding in the barrack.
“It was a fun time altogether,” D’Amore, a resident of the 2400 block of South Hicks Street and a student at St. Monica’s, 1720 Ritner St., noted.
Gorman’s son, 12-year-old Matt, pitches and plays shortstop. A student at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 2319 S. Third St., the younger Gorman, whose brother, Joe, suits up for Neumann-Goretti, 1736 S. 10th St., has played since he was 5 and knows the significance of the Upstate New York trip.
“It was the best experience of my life so far,” Gorman said of playing at the 22-field park. “Everything my dad teaches me influences me to play better.”
This year, Gorman and his peers played amazingly. From May through August, they won four tournaments. May brought them the Gibbsboro Voorhees Athletic Association [GVAA] Memorial Day Tournament championship, and June saw them win the Elite Championship Tournament Baseball [ECTB] Father’s Day Tournament in Allentown.
The summer brought additional trophies in the July Drexel Hill Tournament and the August South Jersey Elite End of Summer Tournament in Cherry Hill. They also made the semifinals in May’s Ripken Mother’s Day Tournament in Aberdeen, Md., and finished as the runners-up of the Tri-State Elite League and the Little League District 19 Championship.
“The travel was demanding but the kids and the parents enjoyed it all. We probably, for our age level, traveled more than any other team,” Gorman said, adding he plays all 11 players every game to prevent “any sad faces.”
Almost in unison, the boys credited their “wonderful coach Joseph Gorman” with their success. Though appreciative of the praise, Gorman knows their talent would have become apparent anyway.
“People are going to be reading about these kids shortly,” the coach said. “They are all going to be key players and will be making a lot of noise in the next couple years.”
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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