Darien Set for Little League District Tournament

For Little League players throughout Connecticut, the summer-long journey to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania begins with the district tournaments.

The state is broken up into 11 districts, each of which conducts a tournament that runs through mid-July.

This is but the first step on the possible road to Williamsport. The 11 district champions advance to one of two Connecticut sectional tournaments, the winners of which clash in a two-out-of-three series to determine the state champion,

The next tier of playoffs is the New England Regional, which takes places annually at the Bart Giamatti Little League Complex in Bristol, Connecticut. The 2010 tournament, featuring the six New England state winners, is set for August 6-14.

Eight regional winners from around the country eventually comprise the United States Division in the 64th Little League World Series, which begins on August 20. Eight teams from outside the U.S. will form the International Division.

Two Darien teams—National and American—will compete in the District One tournament, which comprises 14 Little Leagues. The teams are split into two pools of seven, where teams play six round-robin games.

The top two teams in each pool advance to a single-elimination playoff, meaning the eventual district winner will play eight games. 

Darien American's pool (Pool A) also includes National Lione (Stamford), North Stamford, Norwalk, Ridgefield National, Weston, and Wilton.

Darien National's pool (Pool B) consists of Federal (Stamford), Northrop (Stamford), Redding, Ridgefield National, Springdale (Stamford), and Stamford American.

Each Little League sends a team of All-Stars to the district tournament. The players are chosen in a vote among their peers, managers and coaches—the same manner in which the Major League All-Star rosters are determined.

Games in the District One tournament will be played at various sites throughout the region. Stamford Springdale hosts the opening ceremonies and first game against Ridgefield National on Tuesday at 7 p.m..

Darien National's first game is against Northrop on Wednesday at Darien's Coleman Mix Field in McGuane Park (5:45 p.m.). American opens play the same day against Weston at Wilton's Bill Terry Field (5:30 p.m.). 

Considering there are thousands of Little Leagues in the country, the odds of a Connecticut team making it to Williamsport may seem astronomical, but it's not as far-fetched as one might imagine. Shelton National played in the Little Leaue World Series just two years ago.

Overall, Connecticut teams have won the LLWs four times, tied for the second-most of any state behind California's six.

Perhaps the most famous U.S. champion was the 1989 Trumbull team, led by a future National Hockey League star named Chris Drury. That year, Trumbull defeated Chinese Taipei, 5-2, in the final in what is considered one of the bigget upsets in LLWS history.

Other Connectiuct LLWS winners include: Stamford (1951), Norwalk (1952), and Windsor Locks (1965).