Valley Vikings Hit the Road for Regionals

When the Valley AA 10 & under began the 2013 season, closing pitcher D.J. "The Hammer" Sims told head coach Scott Arleth that the team would go undefeated. Arleth appreciated the bold prediction, but did not think it was a truly realistic outcome. That is, until the Vikings kept winning.

"After each win, DJ would go up and say, 'Another one, Coach,'" said Aleshia Sims, D.J.'s mother. The team ended the regular season with no losses and one tie, then shocked themselves with an undefeated run in the district tournament. The Vikings' only loss so far happened on their way to winning the state championship tournament last week. 

The Vikings look to continue their success on the field with this weekend's Middle Atlantic Regionals tournament in North Colonie, N.Y. Ten teams have been divided into two divisions. Valley AA will play four games in three days, starting off with a matchup against the tournament's host team at 11:15 a.m. Thursday. 

After the qualifying games, the top three teams in each division will move on to the playoffs. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played on Sunday, leading to Monday's championship game. The winner of the tournament will then advance to the national championships in Ocala, Fla.

This is the furthest the team has ever advanced in tournament play. Arleth says the players have shaken off those initial, happy-to-be-here feelings and are hungry for more success.

"They are all good friends with each other and have a lot of sleep overs," says Arleth, whose son, Ryan, is one of the team's starting pitcher. "You can hear them up all night talking about it."

Most of the players have been teammates for the past four to five years, working their way through the Valley Athletic Association leagues. Arleth says the boys have developed a strong bond between each other, eschewing any huge egos or chemistry-damaging rivalries.

The past few years, the Vikings could not make it out of the district tournament, typically losing to Pennsbury, then watching the Upper Makefield squad take the title. It may be tempting to call this season's success a Cinderella story, but the victories did not come out of a stroke of luck or a fairy tale. 

The Vikings' run is the product of nothing more than extreme determination and hard work. Arleth says the team has always had a solid pitching staff and strong defense that kept the Vikings competitive in the tournaments. The only missing piece of the puzzle has been at the plate.

"We took it into our winter workouts and just kept throwing them heat," said Arleth. "They needed to see more pitches and get over their fear of fastballs. They are not scared anymore and know how to hit much better."