By LILY DOOLIN
With the beginning of summer sports on the horizon, the local District 16 all-star teams have started their quests for Williamsport, Penn., and the Little League World Series.
All have been practicing non-stop to better their chances of victory in the tournament, with the goal of winning the title that Salem captured last year.
Wyoma has practicing for more than a week, focusing on getting its players familiar with working together. Though most of the kids already know one another through past seasons and school, they haven’t necessarily been on the same side before.
“They’re getting used to playing together,” said Wyoma manager Rick Anderson. “I think they’re looking forward to the opportunity.”
Although Wyoma’s players are somewhat unfamiliar with each other’s styles, their offensive play has been strong so far during practices. The kids have had little trouble with getting the base hits essential to make plays, a quality that could prove valuable to them, Anderson said. He added that his team’s speed and defense will be strong points throughout the tournament.
Pitching, as well as support for one another during games, are two things Wyoma has been, and will continue, working on in practice.
“We have some inexperienced pitchers,” Anderson said. “We also have to work on backing each other up.”
Wyoma’s first game is on Sunday against Lynnfield, one of the teams it lost to in last year’s tournament
“We expect a strong team in Lynnfield,” said Anderson, “but the kids are excited to get out.”
Lynn Shore is equally anxious to begin play. Shore has been out practicing since the team was assembled, eager to return to the district final.
“We’re at the point right now where we would rather play a game then keep practicing,” coach Paul Hartford joked.
Though Lynn Shore is using its success from last season as a jump start into this one, Hartford said that he wants his players to stay humble.
“We stressed that the success doesn’t necessarily carry over,” said Hartford.
Despite the possibility that Lynn Shore’s success might not translate, its experience definitely will. The kids on the team have been together for multiple seasons now, and are quite familiar with playing as a unit, he said.
Hartford and the rest of the coaching staff have been working on using that comfortability to improve some weak spots, especially on the mound.
Shore opens Monday with Winthrop, a team it has never seen before. But Hartford is confident in his players’ ability to control the game.
“We’re looking to go in and play our own game, and force Winthrop to play our game too,” said Hartford.
Pine Hill, led by manager Rich Avery, has also had a lot of time to sharpen up its skills. The players have been on the same team for several years, and “know each other’s’ tendencies.”
Due to the level of experience the players have with one another, Avery and his staff are focusing more on sharpening up each individual player’s’ skills.
“We’re going to try to get every kid up to par,” said Avery.
Avery also expressed his confidence in his pitchers, as well as his offense’s ability to make important plays.
“We have a very good core of pitchers, and we can move runners on base well,” Avery said.
Pine Hill won’t take the field until Wednesday, facing the winner of the East Lynn/Peabody West game. Pine Hill has faced East Lynn before, but is unfamiliar with Peabody West.
“It should be interesting to see what happens,” said Avery
Saugus American, on the other hand, has been focusing mainly on teamwork skills throughout practice.
“Not just one person is going to win a game for us,” said manager Tom Falasca.
Falasca and his players will take on Peabody Blue, a team they have never faced before.. Saugus American doesn’t know what Peabody will bring to the plate, but it isn’t too concerned.
“You never know what to expect from a team,” said Falasca. “Some kids peak at different times. We’re just going to take it one game at a time.”
Falasca and his team will continue practice up until the matchup on Wednesday.
“We’re eager to go, but we’re working every day,” Falasca said.
Lily Doolin can be reached at [email protected].
