Glendora Little League 2007 Bob DiDonato Tournament Results

The Glendora Little League 2007 Bob DiDonato Memorial All- Star Tournament concluded Monday night July 2^nd with extraordinary results for the Glendora Little League.  The Glendora 10-year old all-stars defeated South Vineland to become tournament champions.  The 10-year old team loses its first game of the tournament and never looked back.  Going in to the championship round the 10-year old team needed to win two straight games to become tournament champions and did just that.  Congratulations to the 10-year old players, coaches, parents and all those that supported the team in what turned out to be a fantastic run which concluded with a tournament championship on our own field.  It doesn't get any better than that.  The excitement, jubilation and expressions on all the kids' faces said it all. 

The 2007 tournament saw all three Glendora teams playing in the Championship round for the first time ever, which stands as a tremendous achievement for the Glendora Little League.  The 7-year old all-stars were crowned champions Saturday morning June 30^th as they defeated the Delaware Valley team from South Philadelphia 16-15 in what can only be described as an exciting nail-biter.  The 7-year old all-stars capped off their championship run without a loss.  Congratulations to all the 7-year old players (which included two 6 year olds), coaches, parents, and all who supported their incredible championship run.  The 8-year old team also concluded their tournament by playing in the championship game Monday night.  Although they loss the championship game to Stratford their tournament results were unmistakable.  Their efforts, enthusiasm, playing, and earlier come-back win against eventual champion Stratford was nothing less than sure excitement.  Again, congratulations to the 8-year old players, coaches, parents, and supporters who showed nothing but class in making their way to the championship round.  The 9-year olds also participated in the 10-year old tournament and played two very exciting games.  In their final game they gave the Glendora 10-year olds and eventual champions all they could handle before losing a highly contested game.  It was great experience and fun for the 9-year olds and the players, coaches, parents, and supporters deserve well-earned congratulations.

The support from the league members, parents, and fans was tremendous this year.  One look around at the Fernwood or Whitebirch fields made it very obvious that the Glendora Little League supports its teams and players to the maximum.  Looking around at the stands it was great to see support from all areas of the league.  At any given game you were able to look around and see coaches, players, parents, and fans from other Glendora teams supporting and cheering on all the teams.  This is a great tribute to the supporters of the Glendora Little League.  At the 7, 8, and 10-year old championship games it was great to look around and see not only the parents, but so many coaches, parents, and fans that did not even have a kid playing on the team out their supporting and cheering the Glendora teams on.  Thank you.

The Glendora Little League Board of Directors would like to thank everyone for a great, fun, and exciting year of baseball and a super all-star tournament.  Special thanks go out to the Managers and coaches that dedicated so much time and effort to teach the kids the right way to play baseball and to win and lose graciously in what turned out to be a successful all-star tournament.  In addition to the Managers and Coaches special thanks go out to the tournament Directors and volunteers that worked tirelessly to ensure the fields looked great and the tournament ran smoothly. If you want to talk about supporting the league look at the hours that Steve Bentley put in not only directing the 7-year old tournament but getting fields ready every day, announcing, cleaning up, and umpiring.  You could drive by the fields at pretty much anytime during the tournament and see Steve there. Look at Frank Plefka, aside from his great job as first year league President, also directing the 10-year old tournament and putting in countless hours in tournament preparation and running back and forth to support all the teams.   Look at Henry Theisen assisting Frank in directing the 10-year olds, helping coach the 10-years olds, helping prepare the fields and never turning down a request to umpire the 8-year olds.  Look at Paul Merklien managing the 9-year old team, umpiring the 8 and 10 year old tournaments and still having time to help with the fields.  Look at John Liccketto who showed up every day and early in the morning to help prepare the fields.  Look at Bob Hawn who helped prepare the fields and umpire games.  Look at Harry Reilly who helped umpire numerous 8-year old games and also helped with the field and 50/50's.  Look at Joe Snyder who assisted Steve with the 7-year old tournament, helped with the fields and also pitched in and helped with announcing the 8-year olds.  Look at Jeff Locantore who helped announce the 10-year olds and coordinated all the trophies and medallions.  Look at Bill Lemon helping with the umpiring, announcing and even the candy stand.  I could go on but the bottom line is a lot of people invested a lot of time and energy in this tournament and the results were evident. 

We would also like to direct a very special thanks to the Ladies Auxiliary who, without their help and efforts, the tournament would not have been the success that it was.  Their tireless efforts and hard work to make the candy stands a success is greatly appreciated.  Everyone does not always see it but they are hard at work long before the games and long after the games are over.  Congratulations and thank you on a job well done and greatly appreciated by the Glendora Little League – we all know who you are and what you do.

Last but not least a special thanks to the volunteer umpires who come out every year and do a fantastic job in a very "tough" environment.  Without your poise, efforts and hard work the tournament would have a hard time existing.  Thank you. 

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