Rain has prevented the 9- and 10-year-old All-Star players from getting used to playing with each other.
By GREG AUMAN
Published June 20, 2003
NEW PORT RICHEY - The challenge of Little League All-Star teams, which bring together a league's best players for one team in the postseason, is getting kids comfortable playing with new teammates in a short amount of time.
This week's near-constant rain has added a twist, requiring the West Pasco 9-10 All-Stars to get comfortable playing with new teammates ... in a gym.
After days of rainouts, practice moved inside to the basketball courts at Gulf High on Thursday, where coaches did their best to come up with impromptu drills. "Things might come together a little better if it would stop raining," said coach George Duncan, whose son, George, is one of the league's top pitchers and hitters. "They've been together for about a week and a half, but we've only been able to get about three good days of practice in so far."
Saturday, West Pasco will be one of 16 leagues competing in the District 12 tournament in Dunedin. Duncan said there's consolation in knowing the rains have given most of the other teams the same troubles.
"The first week wasn't too bad, but we've just been bombed out lately," Duncan said. "We really tried to pull kids from all of the teams, so none of them have played together with more than one or two others. We've tried to get them to work together inside, but it's hard to work on cutoffs and stuff inside a gym. Hopefully, everyone else is in the same position."
With three games in three days and strict rules preventing pitchers from throwing too many innings, pitching will be a key. If a pitcher throws one inning, he can pitch the next day. But if he throws 2-3 innings, he must take one day off. And if he throws four or more, he must take two days off. That means anyone with pitching experience could, and likely will, get the call at some point. West Pasco will hope for solid innings from Duncan, Mike Rinaldi and Tanner Newton, whose father, Keith, is a coach for the team and the football coach at Gulf. Those three also are among the team's top hitters and shift to shortstop, third base or catcher when not on the mound. Duncan and manager Bob Roberts coached the league's Athletics team, and third baseman Austin Tolle is the lone player from the league champions, the Diamondbacks.
As 9- and 10-year-olds, this marks the first All-Star competition for most players, so Duncan said his players are excited just by the novelty of having one league's best players go up against others. Once you get past the lack of familiarity within a lineup, it represents the highest level of competition the players have seen during their young careers.
The one relatively new aspect Saturday will be playing baseball outside, where West Pasco can only hope the weekend brings better weather in Dunedin than they have endured in preparing for the district tournament.
"We're going back to the gym for practice (today)," Duncan said. "No matter what God does with the weather in the next 24 hours, it's not going to dry the field enough to practice there."
