By Wayne witkowski
Staff Writer
When five different Brick American all-star teams won championships last month, it was beyond what anyone affiliated with the league could imagine.
"You hope one or two teams could win a championship, but for one league to win this many championships I understand has never been done before," said Tom Nerney, the league’s first vice president. "We have very competitive baseball in our town. It’s good for the kids and good for the parents so they can see a need for volunteers. We have a great town and both political parties have done a lot for kids over the years. And the coaching is getting better and better."
Brick American can proudly boast District 18 champions for its 12-year-old, 14-year-old and 16-year-old All-Stars, the latter winning their second straight championship.
Its 11s won a 13-team Brick American tournament that showcased the best of many of the top programs in the Shore area, including Wall, which Brick beat in the championship game.
Its 13-year-olds won the prestigious Berkeley championship for the second straight year under manager Brian Stillwagon and coach Kevin "Mo" Morris.
Also, Brick American’s 9-year-old All-Stars finished in second place in the Barnegat-Waretown Tournament, and its 10-year-olds made the final four of the district tournament, which was eventually won by Brick National.
What made the feat even more amazing is that the Brick American 16s, under manager Joe Baatz, come from a league that has only three teams and plays an interleague schedule with the Brick National teams. It went from the district title to the Section I championship round and a tough 5-4 loss to Woodbridge.
With the district title in hand, the 14-year-olds, managed by Dan DeJianne, reached the section championship game before losing, 4-1, to Freehold.
The 12-year-olds, managed by Jon Denley, who also is the league’s executive vice president, were eliminated in three games with two heartbreaking losses after a dramatic run to a second district championship in three years.
A successful summer? You bet for a league that serves over 800 kids on 87 teams in different age divisions.
When registration for next season is held in mid-September, the same number of teams is expected because the population figures will be holding steady with development in the town just about complete, said Nerney, who has been involved with the league since he moved to the township from Bayonne 27 years ago.
There will be fall baseball from late August until late October in four different age groups — 13s, 14s, 16s and under 18s. There are two levels — training and development for the beginner level and another simply called the Brick American program for the more advanced level.
Players can sharpen their skills at the league’s indoor training facilities that kept youngsters active when many games were rained out during the spring.
Success starts and ends with the talented young players but also goes to the top to league President Len Conitello, and many volunteers with over 20 years of experience, like Duke Anderson, a past president serving on the league’s board of trustees.
Nerney said the groundwork for this summer’s success goes back to the early 1990s when Warren Wolf brought the needs of the league to the attention of the township while president of the Town Council.
"He got the ball rolling for us," said Nerney.
As the expression goes, the league took the ball from there and ran with it — all the way to this unforgettable summer.