Little Leaguers are gearing up for an All-Star weekend

Published 3:00 pm Wednesday, June 28, 2006

POULSBO — The summer is warming up and so are the North Kitsap Little League All-Stars. Beginning this weekend, the NK baseballers will be bringing heat to the South Kitsap diamonds for the divisional district tournaments starting June 30.

North Kitsap’s softballers will start July 1; their district tournaments will be held on Bainbridge Island. North Kitsap will be hosting the 10-11 year old state softball tournament July 21-27 at Snider Park.

Monday at Snider Park in Poulsbo, each of the All-Star teams dug out and donned their All-Star uniforms with excitement. As players picked out their favorite numbers and capsizes, Majors All-Star team manager Carrie Harrel watched with a smile.

“Oh my goodness, they are so excited! Especially when they get to put on that hat, the Snider park all-star ball cap,” Harrel said, adding her own excitement about the upcoming tournament June 30. “I have a phenomenally great group of boys, their attitudes are tremendous. They have so much heart, if heart can win a ball game we are going all the way.”

The Majors All-Stars will take the field at the Virgil Stacey Complex in Ollala as the South Kitsap Southern Little League will host the Majors and the 10- and 11-year-old boys district tournaments, while South Kitsap Western Little League will host the 9-10 year old tournament in Port Orchard. All games begin June 30.

While being selected as an All-Star to represent one’s baseball community as the best of the best is an honor, NK catcher Jacob Rehder, 11, said he’s not too nervous in his third postseason appearance.

“It’s just baseball,” Rehder said. “You just have to go out there and have fun.”

That notion is one that is echoed across fields at Snider Park as coaches and players alike are winding up for a positive experience, leaving the win-at-all-cost mentality in the dust.

“We’re essentially blending four teams together with various levels of experience which is a challenge but also an opportunity,” said NK 9-10 girls softball manager Paul Reichart. “The philosophy going in is we’re here to work on fundamentals; winning is fun but it is not always the priority.”

The priority, Reichart said, is to play competitively at the highest level possible and always remember to have fun.

“If we win that’d be great, it not, fine,” he said. “Winning is not everything. If you are not having fun, then you’re not going to want to come back.”

First year All-Star and first-year player Emily Neer, 10, said she is already planning to come back to play next year regardless of the postseason outcome. Being selected as an All-Star was a pleasant surprise that she said she won’t soon forget.

“There are so many children out there that never even make an All-Star team, so it is just a great honor to be on one,” Harrel said.

GRAY BOX:

2006 North Kitsap Little League All-Star teams

Little League Majors American All-Stars

Samuel Byers

Christopher Gieri

Hunter Jones-Calhoun

Goerge Marinan

Austin Olaes

Matthew Orr

Richie Sander

Joseph Shoemaker

Brady Sundquist

Andrew Urquhart

Peter Wahl

Chandler Setterlund

Little League Majors National All-Stars

Henry Blazina

Ryan Boure

Robert Clark

Blake Cloward

Denny Forsman

Partick Grennan

Daniel Kilcullen

Justin Straight

Dirga Kristian

Derrick Fricke

Jaccob Guggenmos

Noah Harrel

Little League 11&12 American All-Stars

Chance Akins

Brian Bratlien

Cody Combs

Isiah Drea

Scott Leeming

Joshua McLeod

Ben McMullen

Arory (AJ) Milyard

Brady Sparrow

Tyler Swansboro

Ethan Syverson-Blair

Jacob Velarde

Jason (JT) Nettleton

Little League 11&12 National All-Stars

Gus Cardoso

Shane Crowell

K.T. Deam

Samir Evans

Matthew Fisher

Dylan Hart

Jaycob Lamb

John Murphy

Jacob Rehder

Jackson Suter

Benjamin Tamm

Trevor Waller

Little League 9&10 American All-Stars

Henry English

Justin Herrera

Marcus Morgan

Andrew Orwiler

Sheldon Parris

Beau Rabedeaux

Bobby Reece

Tyler Shuey

Jacob Waterman

Mikole Hendricks

Sean Jones

Jacob McCown

Brendin Quinn

Little League 9&10 National All-Stars

J.R. Elder

Khody Golden

Matthew Goodall

Sterling Grover

Mitchell Kandlik

Kolby Rowland

John Teising

Alex Torres

Brady Brann

James DeMile

TJ Jensen

Colby Peone

Sasha Straight

Little League 10&11 Softball All-Stars

Jazmine Royal

Kaitlyn Aldrich

Erika Daniels

Nikole Hendricks

Cassidy Johnson

Cali Jones

Michelle Maleski

Alyssa McCarthick

Kaylin Weatherill

Kalie Weible

Amanda Carper

Lindsey Fredericksen

Miranda Holt

Taylor Knutsen

Little League 9&10 Softball All-Stars

Katie Johnson

Mackenzie McMurrin

Cassidy Trevors

Amy Welsh

Katelyn Carper

Garcia Gabriel

Emma Keller

Shannon Maleski

Maddison McMurrin

Emily Neer

Alison Reichert

Caitlin Smith

Aimee Zehrung