Minus coach, Legacy beat in Little League semifinals

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1. By rukidding

   Aug. 15, 2009

   12:22 p.m.

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   I coached little league for 11 years while my son was growing up. I've seen up close the politics that unfortunately goes into a lot of leagues and these allstar teams. My teams usually won slightly more than they lost but the kids learned and repected the game of baseball and they also learned sportmanship - I believe that is what LL(Little League) was suppose to be about. Do your best, respect the game, respect your opponents, respect the umpires - good life lessons for kids 8-12 years of age.

   Unfortunately for more and more coaches, LL seems now to be all about winning and getting to the LL World Series - I believe the extended TV coverage from ESPN has helped fuel some of this.
   From all I have read and heard of this incident, there is little doubt in my mind what the manager was doing and how he instructed his kids. Look and see how many times that catcher has overthrown the pitcher in previous games...bet the answer is zero and now 2 times during the same at bat (Respect the game?). Shame on the manager for the message he is sending to these young impressionable kids. He is willing to risk losing a game and more importantly sending the wrong message to his kids because he failed to manage the game properly and get all of his kids an at bat. If the game would have ended as it should have with a win after 6 innings, I believe the rule is the coach would be suspended for 2 games while the team's win would still stand. I think the player who didn't get an at bat would then have to start the next game and I believe get 2 at bats. So Mr. Johnson(a former UNLV star) would have had to manage the team and I'm sure would have done a fine job.
   I appreciate the hours/years of volunteer work the manager has put in for little league, I just wish the time was spent with teaching the kids the positive attributes from the whole little league experience and less about winning. So I am not disappointed that this team will not be going to Williamsport as I do not think it would be good for the image of Las Vegas for this story to get more publicity and it may have been even worse if it ever really got out how this team was "put together".

   I believe the game of baseball can be used to teach our kids so many valuable lessons. It is up to the adults to make sure the lessons are positive.

2. By notkidding

   Aug. 17, 2009

   4:02 p.m.

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   One thing that is so frustrating is that most people believe anything they see in writing. You have no idea what you are talking about. This coach did nothing wrong in that game. And yes, why would a coach that had put so many years of his time, put a game on the line like that, which by the way, would have ended his team's chance to go further and would have gone home with a loss. I think most negative comments come from those that are either jealous or maybe upset that their child was not on such a team, or did not have the opportunity like these kids did. If you want to slam a team, maybe you can talk about So Cal's so-called "kids" that are as big as most adults and the fact that they don't score runs unless they are hit over the fence. Maybe someone needs to look into the insides of those bats. Didn't hear you (rukidding) make any comments to that affect. If I were to guess, you probably got beat by Legacy somewhere along the line and just have a vendetta against them. Why can't people just let the kids play, which is what it's supposed to be about any way, right???????

3. By I_was_at_the_game

   Aug. 18, 2009

   12:04 p.m.

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   I have coached at all levels in the Little League format in Nevada for 5 years and even coached the major level all stars a number of years back. I went to the Western Regional games this year I got to witness the game between Legacy and Arizona. Plain and simple, it was the manager's fault for not getting all his players into the game, as required. The manager has coached at all levels for many years in the little league system, even other all star teams. Getting all his players into the game is nothing new (actually, the rules have soften over the last several years, from all kids playing 6 defensive down to 3 defensive outs). The coach played 14 regular season games, 5 district games, 4 state games, and then you forget the rules 4 games into the Western Regional? What I witnessed, the manager must have told his players to allow the run to score. I was watching his kids play and 12/13 year old kids are not very good actors and it was obvious that something was going on in the 6th inning! What a lesson for the kids, cheat for me to cover up my mistake. Five other western teams that did not advance to the finals can go home saying they tried their best and probably had the time of their lives. Not Nevada's, thanks for the black eye for the kids and Nevada's Little League Program.

4. By cjacobs

   Aug. 20, 2009

   10:46 a.m.

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   "You have no idea what you are talking about. This coach did nothing wrong in that game."

   You are joking right? It has been proven that he didn't get all members on the team to bat at least once before the end of the 6th inning. That is a national little league rule that you play with all season. If you watch the DVD (which is available for purchase), you can clearly see the kids purposely dropping the ball and not even attempting to get the kid from Arrowhead out. Look at the mistakes before that run and after...the kids were instructed to play poorly to let Arizona tie it up. The article fails to mention that the coach was caught with a cell phone in his pocket immediately after the game which is also NOT allowed and is a standard rule which was gone over once again before the tournament started except the Las Vegas coaches felt they were exempt from that meeting and were the only coaches to not show up.

   Southern Cal does have a kid that is 6'2" and 205 pounds, but they have plenty of average sized kids too. Arizona had a kid that was 6 foot and another kid that was easily 5'10". Other teams had a few big kids. Southern California has to play a lot more games than the other states to get to the western regionals, and the teams are more far more competitive with travel ball. The kids were that good before they came together for All Stars...especially Kiko Garcia. Either way they have to turn in their bats and use the ones given to them in Williamsport and they will still be home run hitting machines. They are the team to beat and their coaches are class acts in the conversations I had with them in the past.

   To bring up So. Cal and to challenge their ethics is pathetic when the real topic is about the Las Vegas coach being suspended from Little League indefinitely. I agree...we should just let the kids play. If the coach from Legacy would have done that then they would have beat Arizona fair and square and their integrity would be more intact. If that wasn't enough, closing ceremonies was about 15 minutes after their game against California and the Las Vegas team decided to load up in their big fancy bus and leave. At least the attitude of the team was consistent throughout the entire tournament. It is sad that the kids weren't encouraged to hang around the boys from the other states, didn't interact with their host from San Bernardino, and didn't have someone leading them that was an example of honesty and integrity. I guess saying the players, coaches, and parent's pledge at the beginning of the team doesn't mean anything.

5. By anntylr

   Aug. 20, 2009

   7:31 p.m.

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   "Not kidding" sounds like a Slusher relative. Give me a break, have you not been reading the facts? You sound like a complete idiot for supporting a man that has cheated and lied for several years. It's been verified by the kids themselves. Oh let me guess, they are all lying right? Of course it wouldn't be a problem to call them all liars since it was their fault they missed those passed balls. Disgusting that Slusher makes them the scapegoats for his behavior. He should be ashamed and what goes around will come around for him. This is just the beginning and his reputation will speak for itself as he continues to bye and control his way through managing teams. Anybody he lowers themselves to play for this man needs to take a good look at themselves and ask why? There are plenty of reputatable teams around. Sure, you'll have to pay your own way for tournaments and uniforms but at least you can have your dignity back. Think about that. Are you still going to have your hands so deep into his pockets? Have a little self-respect parents. "notkidding" you need to zip your lips to avoid looking like a complete idiot at this point.

6. By BASEBALLBOY

   July 16, 2010

   4:31 p.m.

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   i heard of a kid on silverado little league his name was Vince Taormina, supposley he was asked to be on the legacy team and he didnt go. i was at the district final game and he was the only kid to score runs, it was a 3 run homerun. he pitched but they hit. he had 20+ homeruns in the regular season and 8 in the district tournament i remember he also got clocked at pitching with a 75 mph fastball and a 60 mph change up the kid was huge about 5'9 145 not fat though. i think his team shouldve of went instead of legacy. they worked and legacy didnt. He was the person that could beat leagacy.