Meet the AALL All-Stars!

Welcome to the Arabian American Little League All-Stars weblog! The team thanks you for your support.

The team is managed by James Durley, a LLWS veteran, and is assisted by coaches David Jackson and Hank Banaszak.  I would also like to acknowledge and thank Tommy Bumstead for all of his help and support throughout the season and team selection.  Tommy had originally intended to manage the team but was reluctantly unable to continue in his endeavour due to personal circumstances. Here are the members of the 2008 All-Star team:

Kyle Al-Shafei                     Chris Beyers                       Tim Bradford

Beau Branton                    Cameron Durley                      Zach Ell

Alex Husain                       Bryce Jackson                      Nicky Knight

Will Lavenue                                  Evan Merriwether

John Sheppard                                  Tucker Walle

The Manager and On-Field Coaches:

James Durley                     David Jackson              Hank Banaszak

Please join me in congratulating the boys on their selection.

I will be posting pictures and highlights as we progress through the tournament process with an eye on the our goal of participating in and winning the 2008 Little League World Series!

Following team selection the boys immediately began practicing. They are working hard and thanks to dedicated practice and effort continue to improve every day. It has not all gone completely smooth however as we have been plagued by significant and lengthy shamals (dust storms) The longest lasted 2 weeks and forced the boys indoors for their practice sessions.

And there were injuries…           

Including some parents…          

The first step towards the LLWS will occur when the team leaves Dhahran for Kutno, Poland and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) qualifying tournament. They will depart for Kutno on the 21st of July and the tournament will take place starting 24 July. Since last season the regions have been adjusted and we will not be playing the European teams unless/until we see them in Williamsport,PA.

For those who have not started watching the LLWS qualifying, the first team in our potential pool has qualified.  The Coquivacoa Little League (Venezuela A) has been crowned as the Latin America Champion and is the first team in Pool D.

Here is a link to the LLWS Scoreboard: http://www.littleleague.org/series/2008divisions/llbb/series.htm

Check back often as I will try to post an entry at least once a week outside of the tournaments and daily during the tournaments!

PLAY BALL! Go Saudi!

Bill