UM Little League Team Takes Second in Neshaminy Tournament

For many coaches in the Little League, the lesson they teach the most is that baseball is a team sport.

“The coaches and parents were so proud of the boys,” Chuck Jones, an coach, said. “They were playing as a team and playing their hearts out.”

Jones, who has coached Upper Moreland Little League for the past three years, is the team manager for this year’s Upper Moreland tournament team for 7-year-olds.

According to Jones, a tournament team is comprised of Little League players that performed well enough during the regular season to participate in post-season tournament play.  

For the Upper Moreland 7-year-old tournament team, Jones said that of the 25 players suggested for participation, 13 were selected to create this year’s 7-year-old tournament team.

Jones likened such teams to MLB All-Star teams.

Different Little League towns host tournaments for teams of specific age groups. The UM Little League 7-year-old team participated in its first tournament over the weekend of June 18 in Hatboro.

This Hatboro Little League tournament was geared for 7- to 8-year-old players.

According to Jones, there was only one other 7-year-old team playing, while the rest of the players were all 8-year-olds.

Jones noted that 7-year-old Little League baseball gives players more competitive play, as younger players are only learning the game and using a T-ball. The Hatboro tournament used a pitching machine.

He also said that despite playing all season long, tournament teams play together for the first time at their first tournament.

“We didn’t do very well,” Jones said. “They lost both games right away.”

He said that the losses, which put them out of the tournament, hampered the spirits of the Upper Moreland 7-year-old team.  

“The boys were down,” Jones said.

However, Jones and his fellow coaches didn’t so much concentrate on the losses, but rather the fact that the team had the chance to go out and play baseball.

“The way I looked at it, we kept them playing outside,” Jones said. “Baseball is a passion.”

Jones, who played in the Upper Moreland Little League as a child, said that he is proud that his son and children his son’s age are still playing ball.

In the weeks that followed the tournament loss, Jones and his team practiced doing just that: playing baseball.

He noticed the team’s spirit was picking up, as the team was having fun again.

“These kids just like to play baseball,” Jones wrote in an email interview.

Soon, he would find another tournament for them—one a little further from home.

This tournament took place over the weekend of July 22 in Neshaminy. There were some major differences from the Hatboro tournament. First, it would be coach pitched, and, second, it was an all 7-year-old-team tournament.

“It was a better match-up,” Jones said. “I think they were really into it this time. They were so pumped up to play.”

The coaches also gave words of encouragement to the 7-year-olds, asking them to think of the Neshaminy tournament as a new team, a new start.

Two players were unable to participate in the tournament, leaving an 11-member team.

Jones recalls the night of July 22 to be a very hot evening for baseball. But despite the heat, Upper Moreland players prevailed against Neshaminy 8-1, winning their first game of the tournament.

“The boys were so happy,” Jones wrote. “I was proud of them.”

However, the celebration was short-lived, as Upper Moreland gave up two bad innings during the following night’s game against Morrisville.

Jones said that those innings cost the game for Upper Moreland, losing 16-3.

Jones recalled how the 7-year-olds only let the loss affect them momentarily, as they went into the Sunday, July 24, game with their heads held high.

This third game against Fairless Hills proved to be a great game for Upper Moreland, as the team won 7-3, pushing the players into the semifinals of the tournament.

Not wanting to lose the momentum, Upper Moreland came out strong and took that game against Holland 11-4.

This victory moved the team to the championship game, which was against another team from Morrisville.

The championship game took place in the evening of July 28 at Penndell Fields. But, despite how far Upper Moreland had come as a team, Jones said that Morrisiville was “just a really good team.”

By the end of the Neshaminy tournament, Upper Moreland was able to take second place.

Pictures of the team, which are included with this article, show how happy Upper Moreland was to receive the second place trophies, despite the championship loss.

Jones said that he and the Upper Moreland coaches express much pride with how well the team came together. He added that it’s worth the time volunteering to be a coach just to see the youth outside playing baseball.

“It’s the best seat in the house,” Jones said.