Saturday 4/21 12pm-2pm All Star Sign Ups for Try Outs
Dear GGNLL Parents,
The end of the Spring season is rapidly approaching. We would like to gauge interest for those of you who would like their players to try out for All Stars. All Stars is a Tournament Team that is comprised of the top players to represent the league. Tryouts will begin after the end of the Spring season tournament schedule. All Star Team selections will be made on June 1, with intense practices several days a week until the first round of tournaments around June 16. If teams win, they can continue competition potentially throughout July and into early August. As teams advance, travel will be required to possibly Sarasota, Bradenton, Jacksonville and North Carolina. If your player is interested, please make sure the family can commit to the full schedule of practices and Tournament games throughout the summer. Also depending on fundraising, there may be a registration fee of up to $100 per player. All players league age 8 and up may try out. If your player is selected for a team, please keep in mind you will be required to provide GGNLL boundary residency and age verification documents.
We will be at the field on April 21 from 12pm-2pm to sign up for tryouts and answer any questions. Additional sign up times will be held if you can't make this first meeting. See you all there!
Youth baseball: GGNLL enters state of transition in solid shape shape after efforts of outgoing leaders
Dawn Bricco, treasurer of Golden Gate National Little League, throws out the ceremonial first pitch during the league's Opening Day ceremonies Saturday morning at Golden Gate Community Park. Bricco and league president Sherrad Reites will be leaving their posts at the end of this season. GREGG HARDY/CSI
BY GREGG HARDY CSI EDITOR
When Sherrad Reites and Dawn Bricco stepped in five years ago to take charge of Golden Gate National Little League, there was a grand total of 17 players registered.
Ages notwithstanding, that wasn’t even enough to field two full teams.
Oh, and there was little to no money to upgrade facilities, equipment and such.
Fast forward to an unseasonably hot, sunny late Saturday morning at Golden Gate Community Park, and Reites — perched in the dark but spacious announcer’s booth — announced that the end of an era at GGNLL was approaching.
With teams neatly lined up in the outfield after each player and coach were introduced to those in attendance, and just before Bricco walked out to throw the ceremonial first pitch, Reites announced that he and Bricco were stepping down as league’s president and treasurer, respectively, at season’s end.
Reites said he and Bricco will stay involved in an advisory capacity next season to help the incoming leadership make a smooth transition.
A Cubs coach high-fives his players as they get ready to be introduced during GGNLL’s Opening Day ceremonies. GREGG HARDY/CSI
With a great amount of pride welling up in his voice, Reites gave all the credit for the league’s strong standing to Bricco — “I’m just the president,” he humbly said, citing Bricco’s work securing funds and ensuring that all team uniform needs were met, among her other responsibilities.
“We’re leaving behind a good amount of financial aid that was not there for us to start with,” said Reites, who noted that the league’s registration jumped up to 60 in his second year, then 100 in Year 3 (numbers for last year and this year weren’t mentioned). “We got a lot of sponsors involved, and we continue to keep them involved, and we’ll introduce them to the new board so that they can continue to keep them involved.”
Among the recent — and, in some cases, brand-new — upgrades that GGNLL has made include refurbished batting cages, new pitching screens and some fencing. Reites said due to a new rule forcing players to use a USA Baseball-stamped bat, the league bought each team two compliant bats to ease the financial burden on some parents.
Another development for GGNLL, Reites said, is the creation of a 60/90 team for older players. That team, called the Hammerheads, will play against teams from other leagues — on Saturday, they hosted the Mets from Naples Cal Ripken. Reites gave a special mention of gratitude to Cal Ripken for sending over some teams to play in GGNLL divisions that have an odd number of teams.
The brand-new Hammerheads 60/90 team is introduced during GGNLL’s Opening Day ceremonies at Golden Gate Community Park. GREGG HARDY/CSI
“(Collier County’s different leagues) are all here for the kids to play baseball,” said Reites, who plans to continue serving as a GGNLL coach next season. “Everybody’s got to work together. It’s a lot more fun for everybody that way.”
Reites also gave some credit to Collier County’s Parks and Recreation Department for getting fields ready following the damage inflicted by Hurricane Irma in September. Golden Gate Community Park still needs some lingering repairs — scoreboards and a flagpole need to be replaced; and a couple of fences are down.
“They did a really good job getting it ready … throughout the whole county,” Reites said. “Parks and Recreation really stepped it up to make sure they could get the kids out. And not just baseball — soccer, football, everything that’s going on in the parks.”
Reites said plans are in the works for GGNLL to hold a black-tie sports banquet at the end of the season. He’s hoping to get a big-name guest speaker to address the players. Stay tuned.
Email Gregg Hardy at editor@colliersportsinsider.com. Follow CSI on Twitter at @239CSI or like CSI on Facebook at facebook.com/CollierSportsInsider.
