Terence Thomas has taken teams from the Delray Beach American Little League organization to Alabama the past four years to play in the annual Piper Davis Baseball Tournament.
Over that span, the program based at Pompey Park has sent 10-under, 12-under and 14-under squads up to that state to compete in the prestigious event.
This year, Delray American’s 10-under team won a thriller against the Bahamas, 7-6, to earn the championship. The Delray youths went 5-0 and emerged as the top seed after pool play.
Thomas, who presides over Delray Beach American and serves as one of the coaches with the 14s, said the Piper Davis showcase is important for a number of reasons.
“It is a life experience for the kids,” he said. “Sports takes me everywhere I go. It is a learning experience and it is bigger than baseball. The 10s have been the runner-up the last three years so to finally get the championship this year was great.”
Codey Gauff, 10, who will be entering the fourth grade at Trinity Lutheran School, played a key role in the 10s’ title-clinching effort in Alabama. He also helped the team win the Piper Davis tournament in Delray Beach just a few weeks earlier.
“It was a fun because we get to travel,” Gauff said. “Pressure is a pleasure for me, so I don’t feel any pressure. Beating the Bahamas was cool because they had beaten us the last three times we played them. It was fun. Everybody was jumping up and happy.”
The 14-under team, meanwhile, also traveled north and turned in a stellar showing. The locals reached the championship game and dropped a hard-fought 6-5 decision against the Bahamas.
It was an impressive performance considering the local squad was seeded fourth and reached the final with a 1-1-1 record.
Corey Brown, 11, enjoyed playing on the 14-under team.
“I moved up this year, so this was my first time playing with the bigger boys,” said Brown, a soon-to-be seventh-grader at Don Estridge Middle School. “It felt good and it was fun. This (experience) was cool because we got to play against kids that were going into high school and teams from other states.”
Delray Beach American also had two players — Jamal Potts (American Heritage) and Kolby Lewis (Atlantic High) — participate in the college showcase portion of the Piper Davis event.
Thomas noted that there were about 10 college coaches in attendance, and the All-Star group of 16-18-year-old players took part in a round-robin tournament.
“It’s a big thing,” Thomas said. “… (college) teams know about them now.”
