More Than Winning: Positive Messages Mattered In Toms River LL Run

Pete Avallone remembers the moment he realized the Toms River Little League team had become a big deal.

As manager of the team, Avallone was at the pitcher’s mound, asking Kayla Roncin to take the ball and throw one pitch to get the team out of a bases-loaded jam in the New Jersey State Championship game in Bayville.

“As I was walking back to the dugout, I looked up for the first time and saw how many people had come out to the game,” he said. “I was blown away.”

Roncin delivered her only pitch -- a fastball to Ocean City’s Eric Greening, who was sitting on a 2-0 count at the time. The ensuing pop-fly was tracked down by a diving Jon Giordano, and since then the attention the team has received has only grown.

Avallone and his team of coaches have inspired and guided the team throughout, encouraging them to remember the joys of the game while insulating the young players from the pressures of championship play.

That’s not always easy to do when you’re managing a team from Toms River, NJ, a town that’s sent three Little League teams to the Little League championship game within the past 16 years. But in Toms River, it’s very manageable, largely because of the township’s team-first approach and philosophy toward youth sports.

“They have each other’s backs,” said Jim DeRose, who is one of Avallone’s assistants, of coaches, players and parents. “No matter what happens, they support each other and pick each other up.”

Many of the league’s coaches -- Avallone and DeRose among them -- have worked with the players since their youngest days, getting across a simple, two-pronged message as they not only coach but also mentor their players: teamwork and sportsmanship.

The approach worked well: Toms River won the District 18, Section 4 and New Jersey state championships to advance to the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament in Bristol, Conn. There, the team went 4-0 in pool play before falling to Newark National Little League of Delaware, 4-3, in the semifinals of the tournament last Friday.

It also created pressure of expectations, as fans far and wide followed the team’s progress via social media, news reports and webcasts of the games.

“I’ve gotten texts and emails from people I haven’t spoken to in a long time,” Avallone said while the team was still in Connecticut. While that was exciting, to him and the others making sure the players came away with positive feelings about the experience and baseball was critical.

“We keep a very watchful eye on all of them,” he said. “You don’t want to put a kid in a position where he can’t handle it. You don’t want any of them coming away with a negative experience as a result” of a coaching decision. When a player gets discouraged, the coaches remind them that setbacks and batting slumps are temporary, he said.

Avallone said the team was insulated somewhat from the attention, that included increased media attention due in part to Roncin’s standout role in the state final.

“The kids really have no idea what’s going on back home,” said Avallone, who is also assisted by Ray Roncin. “We find out everything. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, it’s all over. We share it with the kids, and the kids love it.”

The coaches made sure to keep things in balance, however.

“The kids all had a tour of ESPN’s studios, which are 10 minutes away,” Avallone said, “and during the tour, one of the producers pulled us aside and asked about having some of the kids appear on ‘SportsCenter.’ “

Just six players could participate, Avallone said, and the coaches picked those players very strategically. Roncin and Giordano, the team’s top pitcher and one of its best hitters, were not among the six. But, echoing the team-first approach, the idea was to shine a spotlight on players who don’t normally get it.

“The players who couldn’t participate were very good about it,” Avallone said.

Mark Angelo, president of the Toms River Little League, said the success that Toms River has had -- both the current team and Little League teams from the town as a whole, including the 1998 World Champions from the Toms River East Little League across town -- is attributable to the coaching and mentoring that goes on from the youngest levels, and reflects the community’s support.

That includes support from baseball coaches at the town’s three public and one Catholic high school. The high schools have a storied baseball history of their own, built on a philosophy of teamwork and hard work.

“The high school coaches do a lot for our players,” he said. “We have several who are associated with the intermediate schools and the high schools, lending support to our coaches and training players.”

“We just have a nice tone in our town about Little League,” Angelo said.

Avallone, DeRose and Roncin, Angelo said, are a formidable trio who worked in harmony to manage the Toms River team this summer.

“They’re like one unit,” Angelo said. Having all three delivering the same message to the players has helped allow the kids to soak in the experience without becoming overwhelmed.

“The kids aren’t feeling any pressure,” Avallone said last Thursday, the day before the semifinal. “They embrace the attention. They are a very close-knit group. Even if we lose tomorrow, these kids will be hanging out together on Saturday.”

During the journey through the tournament, Avallone said, the kids were kids -- meeting players from elsewhere and making friends, hanging out, and enjoying the moments that presented themselves, especially when it came to getting on the field.

When Toms River’s run ended, as the Newark National second baseman fielded a grounder and threw to first for the final out, ESPN’s zoomed-in views of the Toms River players revealed no tears. It’s reasonable to believe there was some disappointment after falling one run short. But even with the media glare, the fan attention pouring in from all over, the players seemed to have kept things in perspective.

“They just really enjoy playing the game,” Avallone said.

Which is just as it should be.

Photo: Toms River Little League manager Pete Avallone embraces Jon Giordano as he changes pitchers in the sixth inning of the New Jersey State Championship game in Bayville on July 28. Photo Credit: Karen Wall