Hollister teams of all ages experience success in
tournaments
When people talk about Hollister youth, the first thing that
comes up in conversation is usually sports. A look back through
history shows the city’s youth has always fared well in the
athletic department.
Hollister teams of all ages experience success in tournaments
When people talk about Hollister youth, the first thing that comes up in conversation is usually sports. A look back through history shows the city’s youth has always fared well in the athletic department.
Whether it is baseball or football, teams from Hollister always seem to have an edge over the rest of the competition.
In Hollister there are a lot more people who want to be a part of something special here, according to Mitch Burley, the Hollister Little League president.
Something special is right. This year alone, Hollister has claimed more titles than can be counted on one hand. And this is just in youth baseball alone.
At the Babe Ruth level, the 13-year-old all-star team demolished the competition in the qualifying tournament, and scored more than 56 runs in four games to claim the title.
The 14–year-old team also took their qualifying tournament title when they defeated a Modesto team 14-2 while playing in Modesto.
At the Little league stage, the minor AAA Indians claimed the Tournament of Champions title, beating out more than 15 teams to do it. The A’s accomplished the same feat in the Major’s Tournament of Champions.
At the Little League All-star level four separate Hollister teams plowed through the competition to take first and second place in both the 9-10 year old bracket and the 10-11 year old bracket. The 9-10 Hollister National will be competing in the Section 5 tournament here in Hollister starting July 21 at the same time as the 10-11 Hollister American team will be competing in the Section 5 tournament in Campbell.
Some people credit Hollister’s dominance in youth and high school sports to population, according to Burley. At the high school level that might be true to an extent, but at the youth level there are many other reasons behind it.
“Our teams have had success over the years and that is making the kids more competitive and wanting to do better,” Burley said.
In the past decade, Hollister usually takes first or second place in local District 9 tournaments each year. If it does not happen, it comes as a surprise, said Adam Breen, the coach of the 9-10-year-old Hollister National team. This year in both the 9-10 year old district tournament and the 10-11 year old district tournament the championship games were played between Hollister teams, Hollister American versus Hollister National.
“Hollister has a Texas high school football mentality when it comes to youth baseball. People expect success from our teams,” Breen said. “The high expectation breeds our success. There is a lot of local pride and interest in seeing our kids do well.”
By setting such a high standard for themselves with success year in and year out, it builds and the kids just keep getting better, Breen said.
Coach Michael Luna, the head coach of the varsity high school team, plays a big role in making these kids better, according to many of the Little League coaches. Every year since Luna has coached at the high school, he has been a focal point at the opening ceremonies for the Hollister Little League. Luna and his varsity team run out with kids during the introductions at the ceremony.
“Luna has reached out to the league and made us stronger,” Breen said. “The kids admire those high school players and grow up wanting to be able to play like them.”
The competitiveness of the Hollister teams comes from many sources, according to some coaches and volunteers of the league. With the history of success Hollister brings to the table, the kids strive to be better than the team before them. The outside influence and support from the high school also helps build competitiveness. However, credit can also be given to the community and the parents.
“Hollister has a large amount of extremely involved parents and with that we can’t help but be successful,” Breen said.
Hollister – to many locals – still has a small town atmosphere making it a close-knit community.
“There are coaches, parents, and volunteers that played Little League here when they were young,” Breen said. “It provides the kids with a more team and community filled atmosphere.”
