Why the Braves Won the Little League Championship

Before a Little League season begins, especially in the older age groups, boys talk about the perceived strengths of the various teams, and so do the coaches & dads involved. (I'm sure some moms do, too.)
I don't think many of us heard pre-season talk along the lines of "Watch out for the Braves, they're loaded with talent." No, the chatter that filtered down my way was all about the Phillies and their collection of young alpha males, or the Rays and their group of experienced pitchers and ballplayers.
The Braves lost their opening game, 2-1, in 40-degree (or colder) weather at Water Tower on April 26, but they gained enormous confidence in themselves. They hung with the much-ballyhooed Phillies the whole game, and grasped the notion that they didn't have to fear any team in the league. The Braves went on to win 12 straight games, placing themselves in an excellent position for their playoff run.
There are many overlapping reasons why the Braves won this year. I've picked out some of them. Of course, the caveat here is that all opinions are mine, not necessarily endorsed by our coaches or anyone else.
1. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
Two premier Braves players, Chris Pritchard and Jason Blacher, graduated to higher competition after the 2009 season. So the Braves returned 11 guys and added a rookie. What accounted for their improved class on the diamond? Everyone got better. Through a lot of hard work, Alec improved from a promising pitcher in 2009 to a dominant one in 2010, so consistent that he has become one of the top starters for the all-star team. Connor harnessed more of his wild talent and athleticism to become the dominant hitter in the league and a frequently unhittable pitcher. After a modest hitting record in 2009, Tyler learned the strike zone and mastered his swing, forcing pitchers to throw him strikes. When they didn't, he walked. When they did, he got hits. Every player on the team improved in one or more ways over the 2009 season. Ross would tell you the Braves won because they got contributions from every member of the team, not just the 3 or 4 big guys.
2. COACHING
Coach Ross Harmsen expected boys to improve, and expected them to back each other up as a team. And he got the results he expected. A true master of coaching, Ross paid attention to every kid, not just the stars. He pushed and encouraged every kid. As third-base coach, he helped players make subtle adjustments at the plate that improved their hitting: several of Nick's homers this season can be directly attributed to adjustments that Ross suggested to Nick. He helped players develop skills at favorite positions on the field, but he also cross-trained them so they were versatile enough to play multiple spots.
In setting up our lineups, Ross also took advantage of our team having two top-line starting pitchers in Connor and Alec, while also finding opportunities to get other kids some time on the mound, which would pay off in the playoffs.
Rick Rojahn often led pregame fielding practice, and kept order in the dugout as bench coach. His work as scorebook keeper and stat collector enabled the coaches to see the patterns in the Braves' play, and how to strengthen and fine-tune the team. When it came time to draft our rookie this season, Rick also made the pick that should put him in the Little League scouting hall of game, but more on that later.
With his calm demeanor, Joe Kimple added a helpful contrast to his fiery coaching colleagues, and as first-base coach helped stoke the aggressive baserunning that earned the Braves extra runs.
While rarely seen in the dugout, Mike Lindfors put in many hours in practices as a roving instructor and batting-practice pitcher, transmitting his passion for playing the game even while he was offering tips and correction to players.
3. POWER
I don't have stats for other teams, but it's hard to believe any other team had the one-two home run punch the Braves had, with Connor (11) and Nick (8). With Jack (3), Alec (1) and Evan (1) also contributing bombs, the Braves socked 24 homers in 21 games. That, as the kids say, is sick, and I mean sick in a good way. Pitching and defense are important, and we had plenty of both, but you still can't win without scoring more runs than the other team.
4. HITTING
Quite a few Braves took a called strike 3 in the chilly opener against the Phillies. After that game, Ross and his fellow coaches stressed swinging the bats, and when players occasionally lapsed back into taking too many pitches, the coaches stressed swinging the bats again. The Braves scored nearly 240 runs in 21 games, averaging more than 11 runs per game. Many of our biggest rallies were started by boys batting in the lower half of the order. No one on the Braves was an automatic out, and at different times boys batting last in the order drove in 2 or even 4 runs in a game.
5. RESILIENCY
The Braves and their coaches never quit in any game. No kid on our team ever walked off the mound in a huff, or left the field in a tantrum, or phoned in a play. The Braves had no quitters.
Exhibit A in this case was the June 12 comeback against the Red Sox, the greatest comeback I have ever seen in a Little League game. The Braves were down 12-3 entering the bottom of the final inning. I can honestly tell you that all I hoped for was a good effort to leave the game with some honor. The Braves far surpassed that. The team sent 13 boys to the plate and scored 10 runs to win the game, 13-12. The Braves scored 5 of those runs with two outs.
6. DEFENSE
The Braves were not a flawless defensive team, nor should anyone expect a group of 11- and 12-year-olds to be perfect. But they flaunted their improved fielding skills and increased baseball savvy on defense many times during the season. Matt's throw from the outfield to nab a runner trying to go to third, several third-to-first-to-home double plays and many fine catches in the outfield gave our hurlers the confidence to pitch to contact and let the defense back them up.
7. GOOD HEALTH, GOOD FORTUNE
A successful sports season depends on some things going right beyond the players' and coaches' control. In 2009, the Braves lost a lot of playing time to the swine flu, and were decimated in one game by a schedule conflict with a school band concert. This past season, we had no epidemics, no big accidents, and no schedule pileups beyond the regular summer ones.
8. A GOOD MIX
While a number of these boys have played baseball together for four years, the Braves also enjoyed a nice mix of kids from different schools: Whitefish Bay Middle School, St. Monica, Holy Family, University School. Whatever their interests and affiliations off the diamond, they bonded together well practicing and playing baseball. The team also had a healthy mix of athletic styles: big fast kids, smaller fast kids, cerebral players, instinctual players. We had a cluster of natural infielders, a cluster of natural outfielders, and four experienced catchers. Even in games when we could only suit up 9, the coaches never had to look at a spot on the field and say, We don't have anybody who can play that position.
9. THE ROOKIE
With Chris and Jason moving up after 2009 to a higher level of baseball, the Braves were allowed to draft one player to add to the squad for 2010. Given the rules of the draft, it had to be a younger player, just finishing 5th grade. Coach Ross turned to Rick Rojahn for advice, and Rick remembered a kid who had played ball with Scott a few years ago.
Will Koch turned out to be the steal of the draft, a big, smart kid with a competitive spirit who kept battling. I saw his baseball intelligence on the base paths and in the field. On the mound, he was a tenacious pitcher who kept coming after batters. Even though Will was also playing for a BOSS team, his commitment to the Braves and desire to be a good teammate never flagged. When he had played so much traveling baseball one weekend that both coaches decided he shouldn't play in a scheduled Braves game, Will came to the park and served as the team's enthusiastic batboy and cheerleader. And in the playoffs, all he did, as the newest kid on the team, was take the ball in the championship finale, and throw a complete game as the Braves won. Because Will goes to the University School of Milwaukee, many Whitefish Bay kids didn't know him. But after that final game, plenty of people know who he is now.