KUWAIT CITY, Jan 13: People tend to think of Baseball as being an American sport and here we are in Kuwait with more than twenty nationalities participating in this where we have a baseball field, a patch of ground where young men and women are getting together with their parents and coaches to have a good time playing baseball, said United States Ambassador to Kuwait Matthew Tueller as he spoke Friday at the opening ceremony marking the start of the Kuwait Little League (KLL) 2011-2012 Baseball season at the Martyr Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Baseball and Softball Fields within the premises of the Hunting and Equestrian Club.

Ambassador Tueller noted that baseball, which people generally perceive as being an American game, has now gone universal as was evident on the field where the presence of multiple nationalities necessitated the recitation of the KLL pledge in five different languages; the event which was held on the grounds of the Salem Field kicked off with five young players bearing five different national flags representing the color guard recite the KLL Pledge in five different languages in English, Arabic, Portuguese, Farsi and Thai, thus reflecting the international nature of KLL. The national Anthems of Kuwait and the US were sung with the color guard bearing the flags of the United States, Kuwait, KLL as well as the US Baseball League.
Paying tribute to the sponsors of the league, Ambassador Tueller said as they stand on the Salem Field for this event that he knew 50-60 years from now “we are not going to be the people on this field, may be some of the children and grand children of some of us are going to be here appreciating this facility and you’re not going to remember me speaking but you are going to remember your team mates, parents and all the people that made this possible”

The little ones had to be constantly reminded by the organizers to tuck in their shirts and not let them hang. There was an atmosphere of festivity, and the coffee counters were an irresistible draw to many in the cold rainy morning. There was no let up in the floating crowd milling around these counters.
The green fields provided the right contrast to the bold red, blue and other colors of the jerseys of the different teams, and the whole place throbbed with vivacity and much positive energy. The teams lined up in their positions and marched onto the field drawing applause from parents and fans as music, blaring from the speakers, brought the gallery alive. Different divisions had different music played for them to file into the field with A’s and Padres the two challenger teams coached by Mariam and Rafael drawing the loudest applause as they filed into the field.

Sheikh Dhari for his part expressed his gratitude to Ambassador Tueller for attending the event as well as thanked the coaches and the entire KLL management for the great work they have done and continue to do for the sustained running of the children’s sport which is the largest of its kind in Kuwait.
The T Ball division had Marlins sponsored by Salem and coached by Mercy Boujarwah, Dodgers, coached by Lyle Matsuoka, Tigers sponsored by Al-Tamimi and coached by Louie Alnazer and Rockies sponsored by US Embassy and coached by Sabika Al Jasem, Rays sponsored by Gloria Jeans and coached by Chris Wilder and Phillies sponsored by Red Catering and coached by Fatima Boujarwah.
The Minors Division comprises of Rangers coached by Kalbert, Mets coached by Baker, Marlins coached by Ken Cooper and sponsored by Selem Trading Co, Indians sponsored by Kefan Optics and coached by Louie Alnazer.

In the Majors 2 Division, the DBacks, coached by Dan Treash, Reds sponsored by Warba Insurance and coached by William Baker, Rangers coached by Austin Klausen and Khaled Alazmi and sponsored by Hunting and Equestrian Club, Rays coached by Jeff Wilder and sponsored by Gloria Jeans Coffee.
In the Majors Division, Mets are coached by Ron Troutman, A’s coached by Tareq Qodmani and Saud Boujarwah and sponsored by Gloria Jean’s Coffees, Red Sox coached by Rob Little and sponsored by ASAR and Navegantes coached by Abraham Carpio and sponsored by Bioconservacion.
In the Softball Division, Red Sox are coached by Nowal AlNaajjar and sponsored by NBK, Dodgers coached by Joyce Matsuoka and sponsored by Mimar, Giants sponsored by Police Eyewear and coached by Denise Ellis and Twins coached by Jen Kleusen and sponsored by KEO.
In the Juniors Division, the Padres are coached by Tad Kruse and sponsored by Bader Sultan & Bros, Red Sox coached by Mahdi Al Own and sponsored by Cuz Creations, Yankees coached by Joe Morris and sponsored by Al Atraf.

The Challenger team which is in its second year now has A’s coached by Mariam Noor and sponsored by McDonalds and Padres coached by Rafael Cena and sponsored by BSBC.
After the teams were lined up on the field, and the playing of the Kuwaiti and the American national anthems, the color guards were dismissed.
In a short introduction about Kuwait Little League given by Mercy Boujarwah, she said KLL is a non-profit organization and it functions on the voluntary support of parents and coaches and the support of wonderful companies who have a strong sense of corporate responsibility.
Mercy stated that for the 2011-2012 season there would be 27 teams with over 350 players participating in the league on the ever-improving fields now well grassed and to have lighting and scoreboards thanks to generosity of sponsors, installed soon. She called the representatives of sponsoring companies to step forward to pick up a token award presented by Dr Azeez accompanied by Ambassador Tueller and Sheikh Dhari. The sponsors mentioned included Salem General Trading, Bder Sultan & Brothers, BioConservacion, Cuz Creations, Gloria Jeans Coffees, KEO Consultants, Kefan Optics, ASAR, MIMAR, Police Eye Wear/ Al-Noor Optical, Warba Insurance, Al-Atraf, McDonalds, Al-Tamimi Law Firm, Red Catering, Zana Trading Company and NBK. Special mention was also made by Mercy of parents who made donations to KLL within the year.

Among the prominent attendees of the event in addition to Ambassador Tueller were Sheikh Dhari Al-Sabah, Chairman of the Hunting and Equestrian Club and the Baseball and Softball Committee, Saud Ayoub KLL President, Dr Abdulazeez Boujarwah KLL District Administrator and Mercy Boujarwah KLL Safety Officer among countless others. There were also a large number of business representatives, spectators as well as parents who had brought their children to be part of the opening ceremony parade.
The management of the KLL Board include Saud Al Ayoub as the President, Fred Shuaibi the Vice-President, Tammy Asad the Secretary, Rasha Bishara the Public Relations Manager, Denise Ellis the Equipment Manger, Susan Sakkez the Newsletter Editor, May AbdulFattah the Head Score Keeper, Daniel Shorter the Chief Umpire, Robert Bradley the Player Agent, Fahad Al Azmi, Field Manager, Dr AbdelAzeez Boujarwah, Administrator and Mercy Boujarwah the Safety Officer.
Dr Azeez in his speech said Baseball is life and all else is just details, stressing that the great game of Baseball apart from being used as an organization that teaches people sportsmanship, team work and cooperation is also used as a vehicle to bring people together. Paying tribute to Sheikh Dhari’s generosity in giving out the land to build the facility in 2010, Dr Azeez said Sheikh Dhari together with all the staff of the Hunting and Equestrian Club continue to be of assistance, revealing that the Amir, Sheikh Al-Sabah has also weighed in with some support by way of providing state-of-the-art Baseball lighting for the Seniors and Majors fields.

He noted that with the additional help of sponsors, the league now has grass on all fields with score boards to be installed in the Seniors and Majors fields. He heaped praises on the coaches who he said after a 10-hour and 6 days a week work still find the time to coach, teach and mentor the players; some good words went also to the parents who volunteer as assistant coaches, team parents and scorekeepers. Special mention was as well made of Saud Ayoub for his efforts in fighting for KLL whatever is needed, Susan Sarkeez the Newsletter editor, Mai Abdul-Fattah, Head scorekeeper as well as Denise Ellis the equipment manager.
Some of the parents who spoke to the Arab Times were very excited by the start of the baseball season. Marc Anderson, father of two players in the junior and major divisions, said: “Yes, I had to get up early on a Friday, but it is worth the trouble. This is going to be my routine every Friday until April, when the league matches will be on.
The Little League Pledge was then read out by players in English, Arabic, Portuguese, Farsi and Thai. Following this, the ambassador together with Sheikh Dhari threw the first pitch and the season was declared open for the start hostilities.