Even from Guam, it's worth the trip

Families find ways to travel to LLWS

Brielle Meno and Guam manager Bill Meeks hope more celebrations like this await in the Little League World Series. (duane george/Associated Press)

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Nicholas Cruz's trip to the Little League World Series is an all-expense-paid dream come true. For the grandmother of the Guam shortstop, it's a huge, unexpected expense.

But Mary Jane Cruz is bound to see Nicholas play ball. She and other families of team members hope to sell enough $6 chicken-and-rib dinner plates at a market to help pay for plane tickets from the Western Pacific island to Central Pennsylvania.

While the children take the spotlight, it's the coaches, parents, and other family members that pay the biggest toll to get to the annual 10-day celebration of youth baseball. First pitch is tomorrow.

"We're just so elated, I don't know what word to choose," Cruz, a bank manager, said in a phone interview from Guam.

Try "expensive."

Airfare from Guam is $1,400 per person. A 12-day hotel stay amounts to about $1,500 per room.

They've sold many a chicken dinner recently.

"We had one last night and cleared $700. That can help the cost with renting a car," Cruz said recently.

Yet for people such as Cruz, the thrill of seeing a child or grandchild take their World Series cuts often outweighs the sticker shock of travel costs.

Little League Baseball president Stephen Keener isn't sure yet what kind of effect rising fuel and travel prices might have on players' families.

"I think common sense would have to tell you . . . it would have some impact on people's ability to travel and follow their kids," Keener said.

"But on the other side of coin, kids' participation in sports and especially on the Little League trail, is something that many parents make sacrifices to do."

Little League picks up the tab once the teams of 11-, 12-, and 13-year-old boys qualify for South Williamsport. Little League also pays for travel and other expenses for teams that qualify for the other World Series tournaments the organization holds in baseball and softball at other age groups.

Parents pay their own way, though they may often get some of that money back through fund-raisers and donations. Some families may share rooms at local hotels, many of which require prepayment for the full 10-day run.

Trent Carriker missed time from work - running the home-decorating center his family owns in Warner Robins, Ga. - so he could watch his son, Dalton, play with his team at last year's Little League World Series.

Dalton became a hero when he homered in extra innings to give Georgia a dramatic win over Japan to claim the title.

"It's one of those things. Take that part of life out and go through and enjoy it," Carriker said. "The money is not really an object."

Gifts and donations poured into the league following the victory.

The leaders of the Citrus Park Little League team in Tampa, gathered at a cafe the day after winning the Southeast Region Friday to advance to this year's series. Money and logistics were the big topics.

Later that afternoon, they already had a $5,000 donation from a local business. The money, and any other donations, will be divvied up among the families of the 12 players to help pay for their travel expense, manager Joe McGuire said.

Teams that advance to the series have already been traveling for at least a month trying to qualify. Many players on the Citrus Park team also went to Cooperstown, N.Y., to play a tournament there, which cost the league about $5,000.

"It's a financial burden, for sure," McGuire said.

Managers can feel the pinch, too.

McGuire said the athletic field maintenance business he owns hasn't suffered financially, though he's spent many hours away from the office for practices and tournaments. He had a construction job scheduled to start the day before leaving with his team for Pennsylvania.

"It's going to be hectic, but once I leave, I'm just going to be thinking about baseball," he said.

Other coaches aren't so lucky. There have been stories in years past of managers losing their day jobs after spending too much time with their Little League teams.

"One of the first questions from the coaches [in South Williamsport] is, 'How do I get on the wireless [Internet connection" ", said Pat Wilson, Little League's vice president of operations.

Guam manager Bill Meeks adjusted his schedule to manage his team. He works from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. each day at an island port for a fishing company, then heads to a practice field near his home for team workouts at 9 a.m.

On days when he doesn't have work, he'll organize a second practice from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

"I sleep when I'm done with practice," Meeks said. "I love baseball. I've been coaching for 22 years. My heart is with the kids."