September to Remember

September to Remember:
16U LI Bandit Championship Game!

The LI Bandit 16U championship game had the LI Chargers Greco vs. The LI Express 16 White coached by Joe Loughran. The Chargers came into the game seeded #4 after going 2-1 on Saturday in bracket play. The LI Express seeded 3rd on Saturday also with a 2-1 record.

Coach Greco has had his Charger team together for 4 years which might be the longest running team on LI. Greco has not lost many players over the years. A fact that states he must be doing something right. The LI Express team has been together for 2 years now and has also been able to keep the group together and this year they have added some depth to an already strong line up. Both teams will play a mixed schedule that will include both 16U and 18U tournaments and will really aide in preparing the girls for the next level.

The Chargers have had a nice couple of years and really wanted to get the season off on the right foot by going after this tournament, like any veteran team would. The Express came in and wanted to see what they had put together for the season so even though everyone wants to win that was not their main objective.

FPW: Coach Greco, how do think the weekend went?

CG:: "Well we won so that is always good but more importantly I had the opportunity to play some kids at different positions on Saturday to see how we might be able to add strength from within our own team. "

FPW: How have you been able to keep the team together for so long, that is not the norm on LI?

CG: "I love these kids and really love the way they respond to me. At times I get hot but in the end every family and player knows that I have their families' interest at heart. To go with that, we have fun, which for all I know might be the real reason."

FPW: you come to win it on Sunday or were you still experimenting?

CG: "On Sunday we came to play, we came to win."

FPW: Were you happy with the way the kids responded?

CG: "Without a doubt, the kids came ready to play and we had to be prepared for the Express team which is solid and well coached."

FPW: Will school sports hurt you this fall?

CG: "It's possible. Volleyball and field hockey will hurt us. It's that time of year, so you can't tell the kids that they can't play, but I sure would like to."

FPW: You said you are carrying one more than normal, will that be a problem?

CG: "I really hope not, I will do my best to get everyone in and be as fair as possible. A lot of time and money is put into this by every family. It really helps that I do not have a kid on the team because I am able to judge the talent fairly and put the players that earn the right to be out there on the field."

FPW: Thanks Coach and good luck this season.

Fastpitch World caught up with Coach Joe Loughran of the Express and asked him his thoughts on his team and the upcoming season.

FPW: Coach Loughran what was your plan going in?
CL: "I wouldn't be honest if I said we didn't want to win, every athlete and coach always wants to win but at this point of the year for us it is more important to find out who we are and what we need to do to be there at the finish line."

FPW: Did you have any plan going into the championship game?
CL: "It was a championship game but it was the first tournament of the year and we have a lot to still go over. We went into the game, our pitchers knew the plan was to go around the batting order one time each so they could all get big game experience."

FPW: So you didn't care if you won?
CL: "I didn't say that but it was more important to have my young pitchers grow then it was to win."

FPW: Overall how do you think they did?
CL: "We made it to the championship game and overall as a coaching staff we had the opportunity to see where we need to focus a lot of our attention."

FPW: Do you like the team you put together?
CL: "Definitely, our coaching staff (Bob Delaney and Jenn Mccomb) is very excited about the upcoming season. We believe we have the nucleus for a terrific season based on our level of talent and strong leadership from our returning players."

FPW: How did you take the loss?
CL: "No one likes to lose but we just didn't lose to any team, we lost to a very well coached, disciplined team that has been around the block being together for 3 or 4 years. Every game win or lose has a lesson to be learned and sometimes this early in the year the lessons learned from losing can really help for a strong finish."

FPW: Are you saying that you are glad you lost?
CL: "That's crazy, the Chargers were the better team today and the lessons learned from losing are just different from the ones we would have learned by winning."

FPW: Thanks Coach, good luck on the rest of your season.

In the game the Chargers got on the board first scoring in the top of the second as a single and a double put runners on 2nd and 3rd. A sacrifice ground out to the right side of the infield scored the games first run to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead. The score stayed that way until the 4th when the Chargers blew the game open. The Chargers batted around the order collecting 3 walks and 4 hits of which 3 were doubles. When it was all said and done the Chargers held a 6-0 lead. In the 5th inning, the Chargers continued to have their way as they scored 2 more runs on 5 straight singles and opened the lead to 8-0.

The final score was Chargers 8 and the Express 0 as the Chargers won their first tournament of the year.

Congratulations to both teams on making it to the championship game and to both coaches that seem to understand what is most important for their athletes to grow.

Story by LI Island Bandit 18U players Michelle Andrews and Cat Heacox along with FPW.
Thanks, you guys did a great job covering the game!

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September to Remember: 16U LI Bandit Championship Game! The LI Bandit 16U championship game had the LI Chargers Greco vs. The LI Express 16 White coached by Joe Loughran. The Chargers came into the game seeded #4 after going 2-1 on Saturday in bracket play. The LI Express seeded 3rd on Saturday also with a 2-1 record. Coach Greco has had his Charger team together for 4 years which might be the longest running team on LI. Greco has not lost many players over the years. A fact that states he must be doing something right. The LI Express team has been together for 2 years now and has also been able to keep the group together and this year they have added some depth to an already strong line up. Both teams will play a mixed schedule that will include both 16U and 18U tournaments and will really aide in preparing the girls for the next level. The Chargers have had a nice couple of years and really wanted to get the season off on the right foot by going after this tournament, like any veteran team would. The Express came in and wanted to see what they had put together for the season so even though everyone wants to win that was not their main objective. FPW: Coach Greco, how do think the weekend went? CG:: "Well we won so that is always good but more importantly I had the opportunity to play some kids at different positions on Saturday to see how we might be able to add strength from within our own team. " FPW: How have you been able to keep the team together for so long, that is not the norm on LI? CG: "I love these kids and really love the way they respond to me. At times I get hot but in the end every family and player knows that I have their families' interest at heart. To go with that, we have fun, which for all I know might be the real reason." FPW: you come to win it on Sunday or were you still experimenting? CG: "On Sunday we came to play, we came to win." FPW: Were you happy with the way the kids responded? CG: "Without a doubt, the kids came ready to play and we had to be prepared for the Express team which is solid and well coached." FPW: Will school sports hurt you this fall? CG: "It's possible. Volleyball and field hockey will hurt us. It's that time of year, so you can't tell the kids that they can't play, but I sure would like to." FPW: You said you are carrying one more than normal, will that be a problem? CG: "I really hope not, I will do my best to get everyone in and be as fair as possible. A lot of time and money is put into this by every family. It really helps that I do not have a kid on the team because I am able to judge the talent fairly and put the players that earn the right to be out there on the field." FPW: Thanks Coach and good luck this season. Fastpitch World caught up with Coach Joe Loughran of the Express and asked him his thoughts on his team and the upcoming season. FPW: Coach Loughran what was your plan going in? CL: "I wouldn't be honest if I said we didn't want to win, every athlete and coach always wants to win but at this point of the year for us it is more important to find out who we are and what we need to do to be there at the finish line." FPW: Did you have any plan going into the championship game? CL: "It was a championship game but it was the first tournament of the year and we have a lot to still go over. We went into the game, our pitchers knew the plan was to go around the batting order one time each so they could all get big game experience." FPW: So you didn't care if you won? CL: "I didn't say that but it was more important to have my young pitchers grow then it was to win." FPW: Overall how do you think they did? CL: "We made it to the championship game and overall as a coaching staff we had the opportunity to see where we need to focus a lot of our attention." FPW: Do you like the team you put together? CL: "Definitely, our coaching staff (Bob Delaney and Jenn Mccomb) is very excited about the upcoming season. We believe we have the nucleus for a terrific season based on our level of talent and strong leadership from our returning players." FPW: How did you take the loss? CL: "No one likes to lose but we just didn't lose to any team, we lost to a very well coached, disciplined team that has been around the block being together for 3 or 4 years. Every game win or lose has a lesson to be learned and sometimes this early in the year the lessons learned from losing can really help for a strong finish." FPW: Are you saying that you are glad you lost? CL: "That's crazy, the Chargers were the better team today and the lessons learned from losing are just different from the ones we would have learned by winning." FPW: Thanks Coach, good luck on the rest of your season. In the game the Chargers got on the board first scoring in the top of the second as a single and a double put runners on 2nd and 3rd. A sacrifice ground out to the right side of the infield scored the games first run to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead. The score stayed that way until the 4th when the Chargers blew the game open. The Chargers batted around the order collecting 3 walks and 4 hits of which 3 were doubles. When it was all said and done the Chargers held a 6-0 lead. In the 5th inning, the Chargers continued to have their way as they scored 2 more runs on 5 straight singles and opened the lead to 8-0. The final score was Chargers 8 and the Express 0 as the Chargers won their first tournament of the year. Congratulations to both teams on making it to the championship game and to both coaches that seem to understand what is most important for their athletes to grow. Story by LI Island Bandit 18U players Michelle Andrews and Cat Heacox along with FPW. Thanks, you guys did a great job covering the game!