Litchfield Park honors Little League state champions

The Litchfield Park City Council honored the local Little League all-star team, The Park, with an Aug. 21 proclamation and a commemorative day to celebrate the team’s work in a recent international tournament.

The Park represented Arizona at the West Region International Little League Baseball tournament in San Bernadino, California, where they fought for a bid in the 2024 Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The 10- to 13-year-olds lost in the tournament but Litchfield Park Little League President Jason Gibbs said the boys took pride in the opportunity to represent Arizona.

The all-star team was made up of nominated players submitted by the head coaches of each Majors and Minors Division team, who cast votes on the players they feel best fit the role on the field. The players from this team were mostly returning athletes from 2023.

“They have become good friends attending baseball games together and talking throughout the months, making a strong bond between them all,” Gibbs said.

According to a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, organized sports benefit children physically, physiologically and through boosting social development.

“Youth sports teach teamwork, hard work, discipline, how to handle adversity and most of all how to build lifelong relationships,” Gibbs said. “It is about watching them become good young men both on and off the field, while helping them reach their baseball dreams.”

The city council noted the players and coaches demonstrated sportsmanship, discipline and athletic ability as well as playing with enthusiasm, honor and integrity throughout the season before thanking them for representing the city across the state and at an international level.

“They played very well and brought a lot of pride to Litchfield Park,” said Mayor Thomas Shoaf, who proclaimed Sept. 16, 2024, as Litchfield Park Little League Day in honor of The Park.