What Florida's first Little League World Series champions can teach us about sports

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Last Sunday, a bunch of Florida pre-teens captured the national sports spotlight. The Lake Mary Little League All Stars team defeated Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipiei 2-1 with a bunt in the second extra inning to win Florida's first-ever Little League World Series title in the championship's 77-year history. Eight previous Florida teams had reached the LLWS championship game only to finish as the runner-up.

The win had all of Florida celebrating and highlighted the maxim that sports can be the great unifier of communities, both large and small. It’s something we experience on a regular basis in Southwest Florida, be it on a baseball diamond, a soccer field or a hockey rink and includes both competitive and recreational levels.

The lessons conveyed in these environments – teamwork, responsibility, persistence just to name a few – transcend the athletic arenas and help participants assemble the foundation for success in life.

The majority of the 12 members of the Lake Mary Little League team will almost certainly continue to play baseball in high school, a much smaller number in college, fewer still professionally and it’s extremely unlikely a single player ever reaches the Major League level. However, all will forever carry with them the memories of the summer of 2024. And while the headline will always center on ‘Little League World Series champion,’ the real essence of the story and what they will recall most fondly, won’t be the result but the journey.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: What Florida's first Little League World Series champions can teach us about sports