LYNN — When Lynn’s Gallant came together for its first practice back in August, manager Jeff Earp was unsure about how things would go.
Lynn carried a young roster and the team hadn’t quite yet meshed together the way Earp hoped it would.
Tuesday night, the Lynners, who captured their first Gallant Tournament crown since 2016, were honored by Mayor Thomas M. McGee and members of the Lynn City Council at City Hall.
“It’s a great thrill for these kids, and it should be,” Earp, who has managed the Gallant team for 10 years, said. “It’s a great group of parents and I’m sure they’ve explained what this means to the city of Lynn. These kids represent some of the best that the city has to offer. The mayor’s office reached out on his behalf and on behalf of the city council and requested we come in. We’ve done it before and it’s really cool.”
Lynn’s journey through the Gallant Tournament was nothing short of remarkable. The team dropped its opening game, 9-5 to Danvers, and played elimination tilts the rest of the way. But Lynn dug deep, came together and picked up confidence with each game as the tournament progressed. Lynn won five games in a row and defeated Peabody twice, 5-1 and 6-0, to clinch the championship.
“It was unbelievable,” Earp said. “It was a rush like no other I’ve had when we won it. To watch them grow and buy into what we were saying, do those little things right and believe in themselves, it was nice to see. These kids did a lot of things right. It was a great experience. It was tremendous.”
Earp admits he had his doubts in the early stages.
“At practices before our first game I didn’t have high hopes for the team,” Earp said. “What happened at our first game proved it because we didn’t coach well and we didn’t play well. The kids had a choice to make- either fold or bounce back. We had seven 11-year-olds on the team. They chose to bounce back. I still can’t believe they won.”
But in the end, his players delivered a memorable run.
“It really is one of those things that stays fresh in the memories of people around the city,” Earp said. “It’s special. The kids will still wear their shirts and hats around the city. I’ll see them around as they get older. It was great to see how these kids came together. It’s something that stands out for a long, long time. I’ll remember it forever, I really will.”
Members of the team were Ryan Amirault, JJ Avery, Nate Cutone, Josh Doney, Kyle Doney, Jaiden Driscoll, Christian Figueroa, Gilbert Galva, Guilmer Galva, JoJo Hernandez, Justin Jennings, Jake Peterson, Mike Phelps and Anthony Seals. Assistant coaches on Earp’s staff were Rich Avery, Jim Burt, Dave Galeazzi and Bill McCafferty.
