LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Players and the coach from the Paseo Verde Little League team spoke with FOX5 Thursday morning about their journey to the U.S. Championship game.
Player Adrian Cruz, who also goes by AC, said the team’s showing exceeded expectations.
“For the work we did there, no one expected us to get that far,” AC said. “And I think that we deserve all the things we’re getting right now. So, it feels good.”
Player Maddox Bryan said the team watched a Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves game during the trip. Maddox also spoke about playing in front of large crowds on national television.
“Yeah, there was definitely some nerves,” Maddox said. “But in the end, you try to flush it out. You got to act like they’re not watching. But yeah.”
Maddox also explained the tradition of trading pins with other teams at the tournament.
“If you see something that someone has and you like it, then they can pick something from your collection,” Maddox said. “And if they accept the trading and get what you want, they will pay with it. And these pins, like some of them say like Paseo Verde Little League, for example. Some of them are like for Tokyo. Like a lot of people want to collect the team pins just to show that they were there and what team can play and stuff like that.”
Coach reflects on the season
Coach Cory Edwards discussed the team’s response to their loss in the championship game.
“It was more of just the game wasn’t going our way,” Edwards said. “And the kids were feeling the emotions of that. And I want to make sure that, you know, win or lose, if they’re proud of themselves, but also carrying themselves in the right way. I think that’s super important when you’re faced with adversity.”
Edwards also spoke about the team’s undefeated run through the U.S. bracket in Williamsport.
“The Little League in general can’t get this far without participating,” Edwards said. “And then for everything we threw at them, they’re willing to face it head-on. And I’m just proud of that.”
Edwards said the team’s loss in the championship game was emotional, but the response from the community afterward helped.
“It feels really good,” Edwards said. “I think I was pretty bummed that first night when we lost. I think it was going to be emotional either way because something that was super great in our lives that we’d worked so hard for, it was coming to an end. And coming home and seeing all the support makes it feel a lot better.”
Edwards described the support the team received during the tournament.
“I think just from everybody showing up, my parents, my dad drove,” Edwards said. “He was on ESPN talking about it. My sister flew in for the final game. Everyone’s friends and family. And then just all the text messaging on social media that I received in support of the team. So we had support all over the country, not just Nevada, not just mountain region. And that was super awesome.”
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