{"id":243,"date":"2013-09-19T11:18:58","date_gmt":"2013-09-19T16:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/19designstudio.com\/preview\/BestofSWLA\/?p=243"},"modified":"2013-10-30T18:43:21","modified_gmt":"2013-10-30T23:43:21","slug":"total-domination-moss-bluff-stars-stampede-dixie-youth-world-series-championship-eye-popping-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2013\/09\/19\/total-domination-moss-bluff-stars-stampede-dixie-youth-world-series-championship-eye-popping-fashion\/","title":{"rendered":"Moss Bluff All-Stars Stampede To Dixie Youth World Series Championship In Eye-Popping Fashion"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was easy to get wrapped up in the Little League World Series this summer. Coverage was ubiquitous: for a solid month, every TV in every restaurant and bar in the city seemed to broadcast the most recent game or a review of the most recent game.<\/p>\n

Commentators debated about the strengths and weaknesses of each team as vehemently as they had argued about the strengths and weaknesses of major league teams earlier in the year. The fans remained as rowdy as ever; followed these games with the same degree of dedication; responded with the same whoops of enthusiasms and groans of disgust; that they reserved for the big leagues.<\/p>\n

Even I, an avowed baseball hater (I have a bad history with the sport; I still contend I might be the worst player ever to set foot on the mound), found myself casually following along when I went out to eat, tracing the fortunes of the team I was interested in, and even sometimes searching out the results of a missed game online.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Dixie Youth World Series came and ended without a tenth of the media coverage. Like most regional sports leagues, Dixie Youth seems to have been ignored by the rest of the world; in those rare cases it wasn\u2019t ignored, it seemed to have been outright dismissed.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s a shame, because it means that, despite their skill, their dedication, their success and, ultimately, their victory, the Moss Bluff All Stars, the champions of the 2013 Dixie Youth World Series, are being overlooked even in their own community when they should, in fact, be recognized on a much larger scale.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy enough to explain why they might be overlooked. After all, the Dixie Youth World Series only covers 11 southern states \u2013 Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia and Alabama \u2013 while the Little League World Series encompasses, well, the world, as its name suggests.<\/p>\n

The knee-jerk explanation might be that the Dixie Youth World Series teams aren\u2019t quite on par with the teams in the Little League World Series, but that seems incorrect. Bub Duhon, one of the three coaches of the Moss Bluff All Stars, has \u201cno doubts that our team could compete in the Little League World Series. The top four teams \u2013 Mexico, California, Japan and New England \u2014 would have been close; they could have gone either way; but against any of the other teams, I\u2019m confident we would have won.\u201d<\/p>\n

Timothy Aguillard, a fellow coach and the team\u2019s manager, assured me of the same thing \u2014 not that he had to do much convincing. A look at the team\u2019s record this season dispels most doubts that regionalism is synonymous with a lack of skill. The team was undefeated through the 23 games of the All-Star League, during which time they scored over 285 runs while giving up only 32. That means, on average, every run the opponent managed to squeeze out came after the Moss Bluff All Stars had managed to make nine runs of their own.<\/p>\n

The team also went undefeated throughout the entirety of the Dixie Youth World Series tournament, and though early games against North Carolina and Alabama were tense affairs, the All Stars managed to walk away from both games with a decisive victory.<\/p>\n

Given sport\u2019s singular fascination with the celebrity player \u2014 that quasi-mythical character whose team seems to win and lose based solely on his whims \u2014 and the kind of talent-search mentality that pervades the other youth World Series, it\u2019s only reasonable to assume the Moss Bluff All Stars possess a bit of that star power.<\/p>\n

But such an assumption would be a mistake. Both Bob Duhon and Timothy Aguillard were quick to point out that the victory of the team came from a variety of sources, and that, though each player had his specialty, all 12 \u2014 Qua Simien, Judson DeRouen, Silas Ardoin, Brock Dennis, Braden Duhon, Logan Gray, Will Aguillard, Tyler Hooper, Eann Gover, Bryce Buquet, Hunter Courvelle and Will Thompson \u2013 were absolutely integral.<\/p>\n

\"THE<\/a><\/p>\n

THE CHAMPIONS Back row, L-R: Logan Gray, Brock Dennis, Will Aguillard,
Will Thompson, Bryce Buquet, Hunter Courvelle. Front row, L-R: Silas Ardoin, Braden Duhon, Qua Simien, Judson Derouen, Tyler Hooper, Eann Gover.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not the kind of team with a major WOW factor,\u201d Aguillard said. \u201cWe just have very, very solid fundamentals. We\u2019re not a team known for power hitting or tricks. We\u2019re just a solid team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Duhon disagrees in some minor ways (he claimed that the members of the team were all, in fact, hitters), he was likewise insistent on the importance of fundamentals; about having a balanced team in which \u201ceveryone knows their place and knows what to do.\u201d Each member of the team has a developed understanding of how the game works and so can adapt to any obstacle presented them.<\/p>\n

They are the kind of team that, as Duhon describes it \u201cgrinds down their opponent,\u201d forcing them to make an opening or lose. \u201cThey\u2019re not the kind of team that gives you a win. You have to take it from them,\u201d Aguillard affirmed, his pride in the team evident in his voice and his smile.<\/p>\n

To say the team is lacking in a \u201cwow factor\u201d is not to suggest that they\u2019re boring to watch, of course. An earlier game at the state level found the right fielder catching a ball deep into the field and throwing it all the way from the fence to the third baseman, who promptly tagged the runner. It was the kind of thing Duhon described as \u201calmost impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the tournament, a rematch with North Carolina took a particularly nasty turn. With two outs at the bottom of the inning, it looked as though the All Stars were about to slip. Yet they managed to squeeze 14 runs in before that last out \u2014 something that Aguillard assures \u201cdoes NOT happen.\u201d The team went on to win that game 20 to 5.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise, then, that both coaches assured me they never doubted the team\u2019s chance of success.\u00a0 It seems unlikely that they would have, given the team\u2019s story. Two years ago, when the Moss Bluff All Stars traveled to the Dixie Youth World Series\u2019 minor division (for players 10 years of age), they were thrilled just to be there. Playing in the Series seemed honor enough.<\/p>\n

But a loss to North Carolina changed their perspective. After a particularly grueling ceremony that signaled their run was over \u2014 a ceremony that found the team pulling down the Louisiana state flag from its place on the field and presenting it to the Dixie Youth officials \u2013 they vowed that they would not lose the tournament when they returned in two years; that they would leave the tournament with the trophy, not a folded flag.<\/p>\n

Though six of those players left the team, six remained \u2014 eager for a chance to correct history. If the first time around had been a bit of a vacation \u2014 an exciting but almost fantastical escape from reality \u2014 this time, their run in the tournament would be a business trip.<\/p>\n

To that end, the team\u2019s training regimen became tougher; their focus narrowed. \u201cDuring the summer we\u2019d give the kids a few days off of practice each week. Since we were always practicing five times a week, we figured it might be nice to give the kids a break. But they got upset with me when they found that out. [They said,] \u2018We want to practice, coach!\u2019\u201d recalls Aguillard.<\/p>\n

They faltered briefly after an ugly loss in February, at a time when conditions were miserable, with temperatures as low as 20 degrees. It was a loss Duhon used to motivate them. As he recalls, \u201cthey were telling me it was too cold; that they weren\u2019t ready to play. I just told them, \u2018No excuses.\u2019 You can\u2019t do that in the real world: you don\u2019t say I was too sick or I was too tired. You\u2019ve got a job to do, you do it \u2014 no excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a rallying moment for the team, who quickly adopted the motto \u201c4A\u201d (the four A\u2019s being anybody, anytime, anywhere, any conditions). If they lost, it would be because the other team was better, not because they sabotaged themselves. It was an attitude that could be traced back to Duhon\u2019s time in the military; in fact, it was the motto of his army squadron.<\/p>\n

Unlike Aguillard, who had experience playing college baseball, and Danny Ardoin, the third coach and a former major league player (who wasn\u2019t available for interviews), Duhon admits his coaching abilities are, in many ways, less about his knowledge of baseball and more about heart. He\u2019s no less valuable for it. As Aguillard says, he\u2019s \u201cmilitary, a West Point graduate, and [the players] really respect [that].\u201d<\/p>\n

Duhon emphasizes that Aguillard and Ardoin are every bit as essential as he is to the team; that the team couldn\u2019t work the way it does if they replaced even one player or lost one of the coaches.<\/p>\n

It may be the team\u2019s biggest attribute that despite their formidable skill and their discipline, which is stone solid, the team is, at the end of the day, a family \u2014 a word Duhon and Aguillard don\u2019t hesitate to use. Winning, as desirable as it is, seemed for both coaches to be second to the idea of creating a close-knit group; a surrogate family that no one seems to be eager to leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard \u2026 When you volunteer for something like this, and really get invested in it, you find it\u2019s hard to let it go,\u201d said Aguillard, his voice tinged with melancholy. \u201cThe boys are all incredibly unselfish,\u201d Duhon says. \u201cIt may sound crazy, but you really come to view them almost like your own family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nowhere was this emotion more evident than at the team\u2019s victory celebration. Elated, ecstatic, they rushed up to the mound and rushed to pose for their pictures with all the joy you could expect of them. It was what you might expect of anyone who\u2019s devoted himself wholly to a goal and found himself rewarded for his effort.<\/p>\n

Only seconds after their pictures had been taken, some of the team members broke into tears; \u201cI asked them why,\u201d Duhon recalls, his own voice growing choked, the memory still vivid. \u201cI said, \u2018Boys, why are you crying? We just won.\u2019 And they told me, \u2018Coach, we finally did it but \u2026 but it\u2019s over now. What do we do?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the kind of melancholy that anyone who\u2019s achieved anything of significance comes to know \u2014 a bittersweet and perplexing mixture of simultaneous pride, joy and disappointment; the sense that this is a defining moment in your life and the certainty that it will soon be over.<\/p>\n

According to Duhon, because most of the boys are still in middle school, Moss Bluff will be able to keep the majority of the team together for one more year before most of the players head off to high school. In that case, they\u2019ll graduate to Dixie Boys and continue with another shot at the Dixie Youth World Series.<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether they win next year, Duhon and Aguillard and Ardoin are proud of what they\u2019ve accomplished. \u201cThey\u2019re special kids,\u201d says Duhon; \u201cYou won\u2019t find a better group of kids anywhere else,\u201d affirms Aguillard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was easy to get wrapped up in the Little League World Series this summer. Coverage was ubiquitous: for a solid month, every TV in every restaurant and bar in the city seemed to broadcast the most recent game or a review of the most recent game. 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