Second Place Prompts Novato North Celebration

It was the way everyone from the Novato North Little League had envisioned the night ending Wednesday following the District 3 championship game in the 9-10 All-Star Tournament.

There were manager Brian Moylan and coach Jerry Thompson dousing the youngsters with buckets full of water and Gatorade. It was quite a celebration.

Only one small problem: They were celebrating a second-place finish, the result of a dominant showing by a powerful San Francisco National team in a 16-2 win over Novato North at Gallinas Field in Terra Linda.

“The boys fought very hard to the last out, never gave up and held their heads high after the game,” Moylan proudly reported. “It took two minutes for them to forget about the loss.”

There were two big reasons to celebrate even in defeat:

First off, the club had won six of its previous seven games to advance farther than 10 of the 12 teams in the competition. Nail-biting 6-5 and 3-0 wins in the single-elimination portion of the tournament had given Novato North a chance to play for the title.

And equally important, being that all the players were 9- or 10-year-olds, they have several more years of Little League eligibility, something certainly not lost on Moylan afterward.

“This team will reconvene next year at All-Star time and likely be viable contenders once again,” the manager vowed.

Moylan went on to praise the Novato North youngsters for “the outstanding team effort that these young boys put forth. It really was amazing to watch them throughout the short season. I play in the Redwood Empire Baseball League and I do not see the kind of focus and determination coming from grown men that I witnessed in these kids.

“One thing is for certain: These boys will all be better baseball players next spring because of this All-Star season.”

That was the driving force behind the celebration afterward. It was a successful campaign, win or lose Wednesday.

“At the beginning of the All-Star practices, I held a parent/player meeting,” Moylan related. “I always give a history of the Little League and the All-Stars. I am a Little League purist, so I want every boy to have the great memories that I hold from playing in Little League All-Stars. I told the families that my goal was not to win games or any championship, but to create memories for every player on the team.

“The coaches and I focused on this goal and I believe we accomplished it. The memories this team will take from the 2011 season will be cherished for a lifetime. The friendships forged will also be cherished.”