The Marana junior softball All-Stars became the first team from Tucson’s District 5 to reach a Little League World Series since 2008; their accomplishment was no accident.
Michael Lev About a month ago, Sam Mills, the head coach of the Marana Little League junior softball All-Star team, handed out postcards to all 12 members of his squad. They featured images from the state of Washington, site of the Junior League Softball World Series.
His team never stopped believing in itself. On the second day of the West Region tournament, Marana lost 10-5 to Magnolia Little League of Seattle. One more defeat, and Marana would be out. Mission accomplishedAlthough Tucson has a tradition of excellence in youth baseball and softball, it’s rare for a team from the area to advance to an international Little League World Series.
At that point, Mills huddled with assistant coach Chris Beck to discuss the next steps. They zeroed in on one question: “What do we need to do to get better?” “It’s a fun group,” Mills said. “There’s a loose and a fun feel, which comes through that friendship that they have off the field. That’s huge. I see some teams that are a business.”
All the families were thrown for a loop when Little League International sent an email at 1:30 a.m. Thursday, informing the team that it was booked on a flight for Seattle at noon that day. Even Thompson, the veteran district administrator, was under the impression that the team would be leaving Friday.
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