Rancho Buena Vista Little League Earns Positive Coaching Alliance Seal of Commitment for 2010

Recognition for providing youth athletes a positive, character-building experience

 

February 2010, Stanford, CA – Rancho Buena Vista Little League has earned the Positive Coaching Alliance Seal of Commitment for 2010. PCA bestows this prestigious national honor only upon youth sports organizations and schools that officially commit to providing youth athletes a positive, character-building experience by requiring every coach to be trained and certified as a Double-Goal Coach^Ò.

 

“A Double-Goal Coach strives not only to win (goal #1), but also to use sports to teach life lessons,” said Jim Thompson, PCA’s founder and executive director. “Likewise, PCA’s Seal of Commitment helps ensure that RBVLL provides all of its youth athletes with a positive, character-building experience.”

 

RBVLL boasts more than 40 certified Double-Goal Coaches, serving more than 325 youth athletes.  Said RBVLL President Mark Phelan “Earning PCA’s Seal of Commitment reinforces our commitment to focus on the best interests of our youth athletes. It takes work to get coaches certified, but we owe it to the families participating in our programs to provide the best experience possible.”

 

As an introduction, please take the time to view the following on-line presentation.  It provides a great introduction into the philosophy we intend to follow at RBVLL and the culture we are promoting:

http://www.positivecoach.org/Video.aspx?video=/videoPlayer/Webinar11132007.flv

The National Advisory Board for PCA reads like a "Who's Who" of professional athletes and Hall of Famers.   The lengthy list includes:  Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, Barry Zito, Nadia Comaneci, Dean Smith, Ronnie Lott, just to name a few.
 

Check out the site and learn what PCA is about and help us continue to deliver the best LL baseball program in Southern California.

 

 

 

 

Staring right back at Mother Nature, a hearty gang of RBVLL board members and coaches arrived at the field on Sunday to dry out the puddles, get out the gear and set our league up for a wonderful "Cake and Cap" day celebration.   This storied tradition was held separate from the opening ceremonies for the first time in 5 years and hearkened back to the origins of RBVLL when the event was held two weeks prior to the season start - and it was the traditional day when players received their caps prior to the season start.

 

It was a wonderful family day with everyone joining us in the outfield to hear a few words about the upcoming season and for the kids to encourage their managers to bid on their favorite cake.   Thanks to the generosity of the league membership we achieved our goal of raising money for the children of our league - and providing them the finest venue and atmosphere for youth baseball anywhere in Southern California.  Our top bidders were the Red Sox, Phillies and Braves.  Cakes were decorated with everything imaginable and pictures will soon be published here on the webpage.

 

Thank you all again for coming out to the park on a beautiful Sunday afternoon on behalf of the players of RBVLL!

CASINO NIGHT/DINNER DANCE

 

The Annual RBVLL Dinner Dance is just 8 days away on April 17 from 6-11 PM at the beautiful Vista Optimist Club.   This year's theme is a 50's style "Sock Hop"  The evening will include a wonderful catered dinner, casino style gaming, dancing, and great silent auction items.  Ticket sales are limited and only 60 35 tickets remain for this great event.

 

Stop by the table by the Snack Bar Friday or Saturday to buy your tickets - at only $25 per person this evening is a tremendous value and all proceeds benefit the players of RBVLL!  We accept cash, check or credit cards, so bring your wallet.  We look forward to seeing you "at the hop"!

 

 

 

 

 

That's the least we can say to the 80 RBVLL folks and more than a dozen Vista Optimist Club members who helped make our annual dinner dance an amazing event.  We exceeded our expectations raising funds for the benefit of our children and a good time was had by all.  Check out all the great photos on Facebook!

 

And now the race is on to the finish line with only 4 weeks remaining in the regular season before we begin our end of the season tournament play.  The days will warm and the energy and intensity will increase.  Help us make this season end on a positive note with supportive comments for all of our kids!

 

We'll see you at the fields!

 

 

 

 Congratulations to the Padres finishing as the runner-up in the City Tournament.  Battling to the last strike, they dropped a tough 8--6 decision in the title game but are looking forward to their trip to TOC to represent RBVLL.  Great effort gang - thank you for keeping us entertained with your hustle and style over the last 2 weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured from Left to Right

Front Row:  Josh Woodard, Mason Morrow, Garrett Duncan, Noah Klovanish and Seth Fisher (not pictured Patrick Phelan)

Middle Row:  Trevor Handa, Brandon Menyes, Brody Litzinger, Justin Hofstadler, Kevin Collard and Christian Rosenkranz

Coaches Back Row: Mark Phelan, Tom Collard, Steve Klovanish and Jonathon Telleson

 

The 2010 RBVLL Junior Division Cubs claimed the first post-season flag for 2010 Season.  Going undefeated in District 70 TOC play, the Cubs outscored their opponents 30-17.  Every victory and the whole tournament represented a team effort that took the contributions of all 12 players to make it a reality.  Thanks to the parents, coaches and players for bringing the title home.

 

Great job and congratulation!

ALL - STAR PLAY BEGINS

 

The first night of all-star play began on Tuesday with 4 great baseball games, hundreds of fans, parking headaches and great concession stand food.  We'll be playing everyday through July 15, so come on down and have some fun.   Join the Board of Directors by helping to be a great host to our visitors coming from all over the North County.  Welcome them and join us in taking pride in our facility and our sportsmanship.   Have a great time!

 

From the North County Times - July 26, 2010.  Click on the link to read the story or leave comments

 

From the North County Times - July 22, 2010.  Click on the link to read the story or leave comments

 

 

LA MESA -- With one loud crack of the bat, Collin Pimentel made sure the season didn't end for the Rancho Buena Vista Little League All-Stars. Pimentel clouted a two-run, walkoff home run in the bottom of the sixth inning Wednesday night to lift RBV to a 5-3 win over Mission Trails for the Section 6 championship at Rolando Little League's Gamby Field. Pimentel's blast provided RBV -- which next plays at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Southern California South Sub-Divisional tournament at Rancho Santa Margarita -- with its only lead of the game.

 

"We just had to stay focused and keep our heads in the game," said Pimentel, who followed Ryan Morace's leadoff single by hammering a 2-2 fastball from Mission Trails pitcher Steven Barrett well beyond the fence in right-center field for his sixth home run of the season.

Misson Trails beat RBV 9-1 on Tuesday, forcing Wednesday's rematch.

"Yesterday, we were giving up," said RBV's Kaile Walter, Wednesday's winning pitcher in relief of starter Josh Quezada. "Today, we didn't give up."

Mission Trails scored twice in the top of the first inning and added another run in the second. But RBV rallied, scoring twice in the bottom of the second inning and tying the game in the fifth when Hayden Hastings doubled to center with one out, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Walter's sharp grounder to second base. That set the stage for Morace and Pimentel. "Collin has been long overdue," RBV manager Marty Miller said. "He has tons of power, and as soon as he got it up in the air, we knew it was gone."

Barrett pitched in relief of Mission Trails starter Jake Halcon, who, despite being the smallest player on the field at 4-foot-10, kept RBV batters off-balance over 4 2/3 innings. "He was living on the curve ball," said Morace, who also singled and scored on a wild pitch in the second. "We're not used to the slow stuff, so we had to stay on his fastball."

Walter entered with two out in the top of the third inning and struck out five batters. He didn't allow a hit until the top of the sixth inning when Mission Trails put runners in scoring position with a leadoff single and a one-out double. It appeared Halcon's fly ball to left scored pinch-runner Jake Balestreri with the go-ahead run, but Walter appealed at third and Balestreri was ruled out for leaving third base too soon.

 

 

From the North County Times - July 15, 2010.  Click on the link to read the story or leave comments

 

 

LITTLE LEAGUE: RBV routs Vista National to advance to Section tournament

 

VISTA -- Now that somewhat of a nemesis has been set aside, the Rancho Buena Vista Little League All-Star baseball team can finally look ahead.

 

As 10-year-olds and again as 11-year-olds, the RBV All-Stars couldn't get past Vista National in district play the previous two seasons. That all changed Wednesday night at RBV's Optimist Field, where Rancho laid a 13-3 thumping on Vista National for the District 31 championship for the 11-12-year-old Majors Division.

 

"We've been struggling with them the last few years," said RBV third baseman Ryan Morace, who helped to end the struggle by clouting a two-out, grand-slam home run in the first inning to ignite the host team. "Everybody on our team has been hitting the ball," said winning pitcher Zach Brasfield, who benefitted from a 14-hit assault that led to the 10-run mercy rule after four innings. "We've lost to Vista National the last two years, but we added a few guys this year who really helped out."' Brasfield aided his own cause by going 3-for-4 with a double and two singles -- the same batting line as first baseman Kaile Walter. In addition, Collin Pimentel and Josh Quezada had two hits apiece, and Quezada sparked a seven-run third-inning uprising with a three-run home run to right-center field on an 0-2 pitch.

 

RBV manager Marty Miller, who guided the 2005 RBV All-Stars to the Little League World Series, felt fortunate to avoid a winner-take-all game against VNLL that would have been played Thursday had RBV lost. "Vista National is a quality team," said Miller. "They won state last year as 11-year-olds, and they scared me to death. They have so much power.  "But we came out hitting, and our pitchers did the job. I feel real good about where we are at because of the quality team we faced today."

Brasfield, a left-hander, struck out six while allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits in three innings of work. Tanner Epp pitched a perfect fourth inning to wrap up the win.  "I'm a little sore, but it's OK," said Brasfield, who threw more pitches in the third inning (35) than he did in the first two innings combined. "I had my curve going good, mostly to the lefties."

 

"It was a change-up, and he left it up in the zone," Morace said of the 2-1 offering from Vista National starter Chad Koller, the first of four pitchers used by VNLL manager Steve Mahady in his efforts to stop the RBV hitting parade.  "Tonight was their night," Mahady said. "Everyone on our team was off a little bit. I thought we could come back, but we just ran out of innings."

"Everything we do from now on is a bonus," said Miller. "We won the district championship against a neighboring league from Vista, and that's a great accomplishment."

All-Star Game updates!

 

The little team that everyone discounted, disparaged and took for granted took our league on an amazing July run, culminating in a loss in the Southern Subdivision title game.  Playing a brand of baseball that too many people have forgotten about in favor of "smash mouth" baseball, this team delivered a complete team effort every time they took the field.   Their mantra became "who's going to be today's hero".   They easily rolled through the District 70 tournament on their home turf outscoring their opponents 47-4 in games featuring the long ball but also highlighting the fact that anyone in the line-up had the potential to beat you.   On to sections where there were at least two other teams favored over them, they earned their new moniker "the cardiac kids" as they won their first game with a dramatic 3-run walk off home run and won the title game with another dramatic 2-run walk off home run.  And to too many people's disbelief this team that wouldn't quit moved on to Subdivision play - and the bandwagon grew.  They drew the worst possible draw and had to play an extra game before facing off against the eventual champion and dropping their first game.   They pressed the champions with another dramatic 6th inning comeback forcing extra innings before giving way in the 7th inning.  Then rolling through the loser's bracket they returned for another shot at the eventual champion.  They gave them all they got but just came up short!  What a tremendous effort and what an amazing show of support for that final game.  Hats off to Oceanview LL and we wish them the best in the Division playoff this weekend - a really quality team that earned the win!

 

Along the way this team, and our league, earned accolades from our opponents and hosts as a first class team, exemplifying grace in both victory and defeat.  Our fans were gracious and passionate.  To those of us who call the Optimist Field of Dreams "home" this success was not surprising and as we told the players at the first meeting "we expect to be playing in late July and August".  It has been my pleasure to be a fan, a scribe and your League President and I look forward to next season when I hopefully find myself "inside the fences" enjoying a great regular season of teaching our players the finer points of the game while continuing to teach our players about "loyalty, character, and courage."   And I have no doubt that the kids who will be returning to RBVLL for the 2011 season have the potential to return to this same stage and with a lucky bounce, a seeing eye single, or an unexpected performance from an all-star exceed even this team's amazing accomplishments.

 

See you at the fields!

 

Mark

 

Playing their fifth game in five days didn't phase these kids as they came out of the gate swinging and battling through a back and forth game before ending their all-star hopes with a 10-9 loss.  Once again the offense was on display as RBVLL posted a first inning run on a single by Haydan Hastings and a misplay by their opponents.  Oceanview plated two of their own in the first but RBVLL tacked on two more in the 2nd inning to re-take the lead.  Collin Pimentel worked a lead off walk and Brandon Cortez blasted a two-run homer to put them ahead.  Not to be outdone Oceanview scored five 2nd inning runs to sprint out to a 7-3 lead.  Both teams were held scoreless in the 3rd inning and then RBVLL found some 2-out magic in the 4th inning.  Zach Testa rifled a two out single to rightfield and Nick Mason followed with another single.  James Egan worked a walk and Zach Brasfield then delivered a 2-RBI single.  Haydan Hastings followed with another RBI single as did Kaile Walter.  Ryan Morace coaxed and error out of the 3rd baseman and then Colin Pimentel added an RBI single.  Brandon Cortez then followed with a single only to have our runner thrown out at the plate to end the inning.  When the dust had settled RBVLL had jumped out to a 9-7 lead.  But again Oceanview responded with 3 runs of their own to retake the lead by the final 10-9 score.  James Egan, Zach Testa, and Haydan Hastings all worked hard on the mound and players played where the team needed them in what was another total team effort.  Great job!

 

The cardiac kids took a night off and the 12YO all-star squad treated their fans to a workmanlike effort as they completely dominated their opponent from Victorville-Ribbons LL in a 10-2 victory.  If it's possible to name just one star today it was clearly Tanner Epp as he went to the hill in the first inning and controlled the entire game delivering a complete game, 3-hitter that included 7 strikeouts.  He pitched to his defense and they delivered with clutch plays by Brandon Cortez at 3rd base, Josh Quezada with a bare-handed grab at shortstop, Kaile Walter scooping a couple of low throws out of the dirt at first base and Haydan Hastings ranging far to the line to flag down a looping line drive as V-R attempted a comeback.

 

But the other story of the night was the offense which came out swinging, delivering a division high 15 hits.  Right out of the gate Zack Brasfield led off with a single, Haydan Hastings delivered an RBI triple, Kaile Walter added an RBI single and Zach Testa blasted a 2-RBI double.  Before the seats were even warm RBVLL was leading 4-0.   The offense would add another run in the 2nd inning as Brasfield and Hastings again singled and Brandon Cortez delivered an RBI single.  The offense would put the game out of reach plating 5 runs in the 5th inning with Zach Testa opening with a walk and then James Egan and Zack Brasfield also adding singles in front of Haydan Hastings second triple of the game, picking up another 3 RBI's.  Not satisfied with the lead Kaile Walter followed with an RBI double and Collin Pimentel added an RBI single to produce the final score.   On the night, Brasfield, Hastings, and Walters were all 3-3 and Brandon Cortez had a 2-2 evening.  Collin Pimentel, Josh Quezada, Zach Testa and James Egan rounded out the hit parade with singles.

 

Although joyous from their win, the 12YO's have a huge task tomorrow as they face off against the team that sent them to the loser's bracket - Ocean View Little League - game time is 5:30 at Tijeras Creek.  Should they prove successful in the opener they'll be tasked with returning immediately to the field for a second game to decide the South Sub-Division title.  Great job to the players on delivering another total team effort!

 

Another game, another hero.  The team that won't quit continues to find ways to win all-star games.  Falling behind early 3-0, the all-stars battled back with 2 second inning runs featuring a double by Collin, a walk by Zach T., a fantastic sacrifice by James and then a 2-rbi single by Tanner - pure teamwork.  Now trailing only 3-2, the game moved along quickly until a fifth inning blast by our opponent dropped us further behind 4-2.  No big deal - we've seen this movie before.  Moving to the bottom of the 6th another single by Tanner lead off the inning and Zach B. hit into a fielders choice, then Haydan prompty followed that with 2-run home run to tie the game to send it into extra innings!  Behind the 14 strikeout performance by Josh and Zack B., the all-stars moved to the bottom of the 7th setting the stage for more excitement.   With a 2-strike count Zach T. blasted his first post-season home run, a walk off winner as our kids earned the 5-4 victory and a Tuesday 6PM date with Victorville.  At the plate Zach B. was 3-4, Kaile, Ryan, Josh and Sean all delivered singles while Tanner earned a multi-hit game with 2 singles.   Thanks for getting out and supporting the kids!  See you on Tuesday at 6PM at Tijeras Creek LL.

 

Today's NC Times Article: http://www.nctimes.com/sports/community/article_162a1e61-8b44-5db4-81ca-7a32b5c6f462.html

 

The 12YO's found themselves facing their toughest pitching in the 2010 post-season.  Trailing 4-0, and being no-hit for 5 innings, the cardiac kids made a valiant effort to come back and tie the game 4-4 after 6 innings!  On to the seventh and a few seeing eye singles and a long home run put them in an 8-4 hole.  And although they tried to stage another furious comeback by loading the bases to start the inning they just couldn't come up with another walk off miracle.   The stage is set for them to return to the diamond for a 4:30 game on Monday with their back to the wall, hoping to avoid elimination against Sweetwater Valley Little League.  Come on out and support the kids.

 

The 12YO's found themselves with an early morning wake up call and a 10:00 start to kick off subdivision plate at Tijeras Creek LL.  Tanner started on the hill and a fluke hit and 2 out single put the stars in an early 2-0 hole.  Finding their legs, they plated 5 second inning runs to take a big lead and earn the opening game win.   Zack B., Collin, and James would all follow Tanner on the hill and help keep the Corona National bats quieted.   The big second inning opened with a Ryan single followed by a  Josh double and both runners scored on a following double by Collin.  Zach B.  would then blast a 2-run home run to make the score 5-2.   In the 5th inning, Kaile would open with a double and advance to 3rd on a perfect sacrifice bunt by Jake and then score on a single by Ryan.   James would slam the door on Corona after surrendering a couple of meaningless runs in his two innings of work.

 

The win earns the all-stars a 2nd round match up against Ocean View Little League on Sunday at 4:00PM at Tijeras Creek.

Lots of pending details to post, but in short WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS of Section 6 and advance to subdivision (State) level of play on Saturday at Tijeras Creek LL in Rancho Santa Margarita after an amazing 5-3 come from behind victory that featured another walk off home run by a team that never quits and gets contributions from every player in the lineup..  Click on the headline link at the top right of the home page for the brackets.  Okay - here's the details!

 

Josh started on the hill for RBVLL and used up his 85 pitches in 2 1/3 innings, and left the game trailing 3-2.  In came Kaile who absolutely dominated on the hill and shut down Mission trails for the next 3 2/3 innings.   After falling behind in the first inning 3-0 RBVLL battled back with Ryan scoring the first run on a wild pitch and then Brandon followed him to the plate  scoring on a fielder's choice by Zack B.  The game remained 3-2 until the 5th inning as Kaile was mowing down his opponent from the hill.  In the 5th inning,  a one out double by Haydan and an advance on a wild pitch put him in position to score on an RBI groundout by Kaile "helping himself".

 

Into the 6th inning and Mission Trails was getting their third look at Kaile.  The leadoff batter walked and the #9 hitter failed to get a bunt down on two attempts before striking out for the first out of the inning.  Mission Trails' star hitter strolled to the plate and ripped a double that placed runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out.  The #2 hitter, a quality contact hitter lifted a fly ball to left field and the throw to the plate was late putting Mission Trails up 4-3.  But WAIT!  A proper appeal was made at 3rd of the runner leaving the base early, the run was erased, and the top of the inning was over with the score remaining tied at 3-3.   Nick then led off the 6th inning with a line drive single to centerfield and up strolled Collin.  Collin also  failed in 2 bunt attempts to advance the runner.  But then he worked the count to 2-2 before blasting a "no doubt" home run over the right centerfield fence to bring home the banner!

 

This was a quality team effort as everyone contributed to the effort.  Haydan was 2-3 with a double, Ryan had 2 hits, Zach B. added a clutch double and of course Collin picked up the walk off glory to go with an earlier single in the game.

 

Great job and congrats!

 

Well if you could pile all of the bad baseball mojo into one game, tonight was the night.  Big doggone deal!  Heck, for the first time in 3 games we didn't even win the 50-50!  Yeah, the 12's dropped a 9-1 decision to be forced into a final championship game, but tomorrow we'll wear our lucky clothing, sit in our lucky seats, and watch the 12's get their groove back and hope to see them bring back the Section 6 title!  Come on down and support the kids with a 5:30 start at Rolando LL in La Mesa.

 

The 11YO squad dropped their second game in Section 6 play to end their all-star hopes for 2010.  Dylan and Andrew tried to keep their hopes alive but the lead was too large to overcome.  Great job to the entire team and thank you to the coaching staff for all of their time and commitment.

 

Game 2 for the 12's was dramatically different as Tanner and the Mission Trails pitcher locked up in a classic pitcher's duel won 3-1 by our 12YO squad.  RBVLL went on top in 3rd inning on an infield single by Haydan and then added 2 more insurance runs in the bottom of the 5th inning on an RBI single by Zach T. and a sacrifice fly by Collin.  In perhaps his finest pitching performance in an RBVLL uniform, Tanner dominated his opponent for 5 1/3 innings before handing the ball off to Kailer who slammed the door to secure the win.   The victory earns the 12's a shot at the Section 6 title on Tuesday at 5:30 in a game that will feature a rematch against either Mission Trails or Solana Beach.

 

The 12YO's opened tournament play with an incredible 15-14 win that featured far too many highlights to mention.   The short story is that they raced out to a 10-0 lead after 3 innings only to see Solana Beach crawl back in to the game with 2 grand slams and other assorted hits.   It seemed that the 12's sent every pitcher on the squad to the mound and eventually fell behind 14-12 going into the bottom of the 6th inning even after two spectacular plays and throws by Collin from centerfield cut down two runners at 3rd base on back to back plays.  Zack B. reached base to lead off the inning and after a Haydan line drive out Kaile worked a walk (after homering in his first at bat).   Brandon strolled to the plate and blasted the 2nd pitch he saw over the left field fence to earn a walk off 15-14 win over Solana Beach.

 

The 11YO's opened tournament play with a tough 4-2 loss to La Mesa National Little League.  Dylan started the game on the mound and pitched 3 effective innings before being relieved by Noah C.   The offense was quiet on the day although Noah T. did blast a 2-run home run while the rest of the line-up was a little bedazzled by some quality curve balls and when they did hit it hard they were hitting it right at 'em.   The loss drops the 11's into the loser's bracket but they took the same route in District play to claim the title.  Their next game is Monday at 5:30 in University City.

Congrats to the 12YO squad - the 3rd team in our short 15 year history to win a section title and advance to Division (State) play.  To really put this in perspective, the team has to now be considered one of the top 10 teams in all of Southern California - without a doubt the toughest collection of more the 500 Little Leagues in the United States (from Santa Maria to the Mexican border).

 

We've got an e-mail in to the host league asking for a pdf file to post, so for now you are going to have to click on the link below to go to their site.

 

Here's the link to the bracket - the location and "to reach" has been posted as well:

 

 

Great job to the kids!

 

We'll see you at the fields!

 

 

 

 

 

The AAA Championship Tournament begins Tuesday May 17

 

The Brackets are set!

 

Hard Copy Brackets will be posted at the fields!

 

When it's time to play - remember to have fun

 

Support the Players!

Support the Coaches!

Support the Umpires!

Be positive in your support of everyone!

 

Download the Brackets here and follow your favor team!