Community Corner

Let's Go Collier: Little League Players are Champs in Eyes of Community

The Collier/Chartiers Little League team may not be World Series winners, but their community gathered to give them a champions homecoming including police escorts and fire trucks.

The sound of fire sirens and the sight of flashing lights elicited cheers from the crowd that had gathered Tuesday night to celebrate the homecoming of the Collier/Chartiers Little League team.

After sweeping up the titles of East Regional Champions and United States Champions, the team, which includes kids from Collier, Upper St. Clair and Canonsburg, spent over a week in California for the Little League World series.

Though they didn't come back to Chartiers Valley with the title of World Champions, their community made sure to make them feel like winners.

Fire trucks from three different municipalities including Kerwin Heights, Presto and Rennerdale picked the team up from the airport and drove them to the celebration in Webb Park where friends and family waited waving flags and hoisting banners of congratulations.

The boys were also escorted by two policemen that act as school resource officers for Chartiers Valley Middle and High Schools, Bill Oslick and Steve Oberle.

Monday night some members of the community got together to have a viewing party of the team's game against the Asia Pacific team which was being televised on ESPN II

"Every person was there cheering until the last out. And to represent little Collier Township playing with Japan, it was awesome," said Amy Zimmer, treasurer for the Collier Township Athletic Association and organizer for the homecoming celebration.      

The team lost to the Asia-Pacific team 10-1, Zimmer said. 

"For these kids from this small town to make it to the world championship is amazing," said Jim Connelly, the little league manager for Pennsylvania district four.  

Connelly, who has known many of the boys on the team since they were 10 years old, called the bunch respectful and commended the coaches for never being mean to the team. 

"As far as playing goes they're just a gritty bunch of kids playing baseball. When they take to the field they expect to win," Connelly said. 

Team manager Jeff Gordon and coach Jack Hess said that the reaction to the teams homecoming was fantastic and unexpected.

"They're living the dream, they really are," Gordon said.


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