Old Cardinal
08-12-2009, 08:47 PM
Going in-- BCLL has not posted the numbers that Texas West San Antonio has posted.
Pulling themselves up by their on boot straps is just a way of life.
Here is an article written by Gabe Pruett of the Orange Leader Newspaper
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BCLL set to be feel-good story on ESPN2
Gabriel Pruett
The Orange Leader
It seems every year in almost every major sporting event, a feel-good story is found.
Get ready Bridge City because on Thursday the 12-year-old All-Stars from Cardinal Country will be that story.
The Bridge City Little League All-Stars are one win away from Williamsport, Penn. and the Little League World Series. BCLL, the Texas East squad, will face Texas West, out of San Antonio, at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2. The game will also air on KOGT 1600 AM.
It is a far cry from where a majority of the players and their families were almost a year ago.
Hurricane Ike devastated Bridge City on Sept. 13, 2008 and eight players from the team lost their homes.
Coaches were not immune to the flood waters.
BCLL Coach Ronnie Shugart also lost his home and has watched a community rally behind itself to rise above where flood waters once were.
“It was a neat experience to watch everyone in our city come together,” Shugart said. “You see all these kind of stories every year. You always want to be that team. It is all like this is a dream. Just don’t pinch me until the World Series is over.”
Blaine Slaughter is one of the eight players who lost his home to Hurricane Ike and unlike many who have said sports takes his mind away from his home life, Slaughter said the storm never leaves his mind.
“Four feet of water was in my house,” Slaughter said. “It destroyed everything in my room. I had a lot of things from when I was little and now it is gone. Sports never really takes it off my mind. I liked my room the way it was and all my things got destroyed. It feels like Hurricane Ike was such a long time ago.”
Shugart said almost a year later, all but one player is back in his house.
“When we started all-stars, most were either in their homes or getting close,” Shugart added. “It is a normal routine now for all of us. We don’t talk much about the storm because it has become a part of our lives. It is normal to drive through the city and see FEMA trailers.”
One of the team’s biggest fans is Bridge City Mayor Kirk Roccaforte who said he sometimes has to leave the room when listening to the games.
“Everyone in this town is excited and everyone is listening,” Roccaforte said. “This really shows the resilience of this little city. They have been amazing. I think the whole country will be pulling for them and they deserve it. If it is not destiny, I don’t know what is.
“This team stood tough like the rest of the city and they saw what their parents and families went through. They watched how everyone picked up and never quit. That put something into this team, it had to. It is amazing.”
Shugart coached a lot of these same players in football almost immediately after Hurricane Ike made landfall around Galveston.
“The ones who did not lose their homes were helping feed the other players,” Shugart said. “They were helping tear sheet rock and anything else they could do. Over the last year all the kids have become real close. The youth of Bridge City has handled this hard time tremendously. It is like nothing happened. The parents really did a great job keeping things as normal as possible.”
Now Slaughter and his teammates will once again try to defy the odds and reach their goal of playing in one more tournament.
“It is going to be cool to be the team everyone is watching,” Slaughter said. “I usually always pull for those teams on TV. I am happy for everyone on our team. We are going to keep fighting because Texas West is going to be a hard game. We got our fight from Hurricane Ike.”
Slaughter just hopes this game is not as dramatic as several of the BCLL games have been so far in the regional tournament. The All-Stars have had to come from behind several times to reach the championship game.
“I don’t like the dramatics,” Slaughter said. “It makes me bite my finger nails and they end up hurting.”
Pulling themselves up by their on boot straps is just a way of life.
Here is an article written by Gabe Pruett of the Orange Leader Newspaper
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BCLL set to be feel-good story on ESPN2
Gabriel Pruett
The Orange Leader
It seems every year in almost every major sporting event, a feel-good story is found.
Get ready Bridge City because on Thursday the 12-year-old All-Stars from Cardinal Country will be that story.
The Bridge City Little League All-Stars are one win away from Williamsport, Penn. and the Little League World Series. BCLL, the Texas East squad, will face Texas West, out of San Antonio, at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2. The game will also air on KOGT 1600 AM.
It is a far cry from where a majority of the players and their families were almost a year ago.
Hurricane Ike devastated Bridge City on Sept. 13, 2008 and eight players from the team lost their homes.
Coaches were not immune to the flood waters.
BCLL Coach Ronnie Shugart also lost his home and has watched a community rally behind itself to rise above where flood waters once were.
“It was a neat experience to watch everyone in our city come together,” Shugart said. “You see all these kind of stories every year. You always want to be that team. It is all like this is a dream. Just don’t pinch me until the World Series is over.”
Blaine Slaughter is one of the eight players who lost his home to Hurricane Ike and unlike many who have said sports takes his mind away from his home life, Slaughter said the storm never leaves his mind.
“Four feet of water was in my house,” Slaughter said. “It destroyed everything in my room. I had a lot of things from when I was little and now it is gone. Sports never really takes it off my mind. I liked my room the way it was and all my things got destroyed. It feels like Hurricane Ike was such a long time ago.”
Shugart said almost a year later, all but one player is back in his house.
“When we started all-stars, most were either in their homes or getting close,” Shugart added. “It is a normal routine now for all of us. We don’t talk much about the storm because it has become a part of our lives. It is normal to drive through the city and see FEMA trailers.”
One of the team’s biggest fans is Bridge City Mayor Kirk Roccaforte who said he sometimes has to leave the room when listening to the games.
“Everyone in this town is excited and everyone is listening,” Roccaforte said. “This really shows the resilience of this little city. They have been amazing. I think the whole country will be pulling for them and they deserve it. If it is not destiny, I don’t know what is.
“This team stood tough like the rest of the city and they saw what their parents and families went through. They watched how everyone picked up and never quit. That put something into this team, it had to. It is amazing.”
Shugart coached a lot of these same players in football almost immediately after Hurricane Ike made landfall around Galveston.
“The ones who did not lose their homes were helping feed the other players,” Shugart said. “They were helping tear sheet rock and anything else they could do. Over the last year all the kids have become real close. The youth of Bridge City has handled this hard time tremendously. It is like nothing happened. The parents really did a great job keeping things as normal as possible.”
Now Slaughter and his teammates will once again try to defy the odds and reach their goal of playing in one more tournament.
“It is going to be cool to be the team everyone is watching,” Slaughter said. “I usually always pull for those teams on TV. I am happy for everyone on our team. We are going to keep fighting because Texas West is going to be a hard game. We got our fight from Hurricane Ike.”
Slaughter just hopes this game is not as dramatic as several of the BCLL games have been so far in the regional tournament. The All-Stars have had to come from behind several times to reach the championship game.
“I don’t like the dramatics,” Slaughter said. “It makes me bite my finger nails and they end up hurting.”