The 2006 London Tecumsehs attended a week long tournament
from August 4th to 10th at the Cooperstown All Star
Village in New York State. This
tournament is widely renown as one of the premiere events that U12 teams from
North America should add to their schedule.
The week hosted a Tournament record 55 teams with 6 representing Canada
and the remainder coming from many different States. The talent level was impressive as well
ranging from Local Associations all the way up
to State All-Star teams.
The Week started with the Tecumsehs checking in to the Village which was surrounded by picturesque mountains and immaculate grounds. The pin trading began immediately as well which was a great way for the team to meet players from all over North America. The evening hosted an Opening Ceremonies which started off with our Tecumsehs Family members winning the Team Cheering Competition! This was followed by a skills competition in which the Tecumsehs finished 2nd in the Fastest Double Play.
The team then moved into Round Robin play – 2 games per day for the first 3 days to determine seeding for the Playoffs. The team started off on the right foot winning their first game 14-1 with an all around team effort. The night game held on the Yankee Stadium turf field was against the #8 ranked team in America was an eye opener. This All-Star team was impressive and educated the Tecumsehs squad on what American Little League baseball was about – curve balls, power bats and power arms.
After some rain delays, batting practice sessions, team meals and walking up hills both ways the round robin portion concluded with the Tecumsehs finishing with a 3 – 3 record. They were ranked 30th out of 55 teams in the Playoffs which gave them 2 byes to start. They won their first playoff game 6 – 3 advancing to play the 17th seed out of California. The team started strong jumping out to a 3 – 0 lead however eventually fell short and was eliminated from the Main Championship Tournament.
The ’06 Tecumsehs were surprisingly invited to participate in the Monster Bracket Tournament the following day. This was a second chance tournament for teams who were wanting to play more competitive baseball before heading home. This team who loves playing baseball jumped at the opportunity and geared up for the 4 game grind ahead. The Tecumsehs won their first 2 games – had to run over to participate in the Closing Ceremonies where they were introduced and given their Cooperstown Youth Hall of Fame rings – then proceeded to run over to the Semi Finals held at the Chicago Turf Field. This game was against another very solid California team however this time the Tecumsehs knew what to expect and used their learnings from previous games to play their best baseball of the Tournament winning 9-3. This placed the Tecumsehs in the Monster Bracket Finals against the very first team they played who was looking for redemption. Behind some lights out pitching and hits that came from the whole line up the Tecumsehs captured the Title winning 10 – 0.
The team finished the week with an 8 – 4 record – were ranked 13th out of 55 teams – hit 15 Home Runs – Scored 116 runs and gave up 88. This Canadian team proved they can compete with the best teams from both Countries and showed sportsmanship, class and respect at all times. This was a once in a lifetime experience for this team which allowed them to grow as ball players, friends, sons and young men.
