GUILDERLAND — Coach Sean Davidson knew there was something special about the group of 12-year-old boys who will be competing next month in the Cal Ripken World Series back when they were just 6 years old.

“We did a game back then where the kids throw the ball around the bases and, if they do it with no errors, the ball goes in the bucket,” Davidson explained.

 Out of about 30, all but three balls ended up in the bucket. 

“At that point,” he said, “I thought we might have something special. None of the parents really knew each other back then but I think they saw it too.”

Fast forward to this year, when a close-knit group of parents, grandparents, and other supporters cheered the team to victory on Monday, July 21, at Guilderland’s Keenholts Park, clinching the Cal Ripken Mid Atlantic Regional Baseball title for 12-year-olds.

Mason Vanderwarker hit a three-run home run in the first inning and Cameron Manikas pitched a complete game one-hitter.

After Chris Fenwick secured the last out, the players and coaches rushed into a joyous hugging huddle.

“Oh, it was amazing,” said Davidson. “It felt like the last six years of work and what we’ve been doing paid off — and the kids did it. They’ve been close a bunch of times. We were just a little bit off in previous years, but this year, they did it, which is great.”

This year, the team earned titles as the 2025 Cal Ripken District Champions and the 2025 Eastern New York State Champions.

Guilderland played six games to make it to the World Series and won five. The final game, on July 21, was against Atlantic Shore, a New Jersey team made of the best players of a number of teams. Guilderland won, 3 to 2.

Davidson had started coaching when his oldest son was 8; his third son, William, always wanted to be part of the action, he recalled. So, when William was old enough, Davidson drove around Keenholts Park on a golf cart, scouting recreational practices to form a team.

“I offered to start practices via email and I think we had a full roster worth of replies in about an hour,” he said. “At that time, the coaches were myself, Adam Neary, John Criscone, and Chris Fenwick.”

Neary is still coaching and he has been joined by Johnny Marcella and Anthony Ruggiero, and most recently Kevin Vanderwarker.

“Johnny stepped in to provide the core baseball offensive and defensive knowledge,” said Davidson, who describes himself as the team manager.

“Adam provides expert coaching, team-building and leadership,” Davidson went on. “And Anthony is the heart of the team — always helping make the kids laugh, batting practice, Home Run Derby, infield/outfield, and walk-up music. 

“Just recently, Kevin Vanderwarker started helping us out with his calm demeanor and high baseball IQ. None of this would happen without these guys. They are amazing.

“But it doesn’t stop there — every parent contributes. Everyone is all in, whether it’s helping run a tournament at Keenholts, helping run practices, doing fields, or fundraising. I can’t stress enough how this is a true team effort.”

Davidson said, “It takes a village to accomplish something like this.”

For some, it has involved a generation or more of waiting. John Marcella and Kevin Vanderwarker, who are now coaching the team, had played together in their youth and Vanderwarker’s father, Steve, had managed the Pine Bush team.

“My son and his childhood friend, John Marcella, are like little kids,” said Sue Vanderwarker, Kevin’s mother, about making it to the World Series. “And even my husband; he said, ‘This is something we always wanted to get to and we never could get past the regional and get to that point where we’re even considered to go to the World Series.’ The fact that these boys are there now — it’s just amazing.”

Sue Vanderwarker’s grandsons, Jacob and Mason, joined the team later than the others, having moved from Troy to the area where their father grew up.

“The twins started with T-ball in Troy and liked it right away,” said their grandmother. Jacob was more focused, she said, while Mason “had the skill but didn’t have the confidence.”

On the Guilderland team, she said, “They gave him a chance and he just came into his own. He just needed somebody to believe in him because I think he was always a little bit in Jacob’s shadow.”

Mason was named Most Valuable Player of the regional series and, in the July 21 game, he hit the home run that brought in three players, including his brother.

“Jacob was so proud of him,” said Vanderwarker. “It was just so wonderful to see him shine.”

Vanderwarker said of the players and their families, “They’re the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. The team is so cohesive and so supportive of each other.”

Her grandsons, she said, just can’t get enough of baseball. “My son has to go out and throw with these boys every day,” she said. “As soon as he gets home from work, it’s like, ‘Dad, come on out and throw with me … Let’s go up and do batting practice.’”

“Every one of the kids takes baseball seriously,” said Davidson. “Almost all of them see hitting, pitching, or fielding coaches on their own. When they show up to practice, they really show up to practice. They don’t mess around. They care and they want to win. And they have fun doing it.”

These are the 14 players on the roster: Sebastian Criscone, William Davidson, Liam Egan, Chris Fenwick, Ronan Haggerty, Andrew Jones, Luke Kennedy, Cameron Manikas, Shawn Marcella, Alex J. Neary, Leo Ruggiero, Jackson Stickles, Jacob Vanderwarker, and Mason Vanderwarker.

“We have solid defense, offensive power, and speed on the base paths ….,” said Davidson. “On top of that, it’s amazing how well the kids all get along and all support each other. These kids really are friends in addition to teammates. It’s like a never-ending series of multi-night sleepovers once school gets out.”

Camaraderie, he said, is a major contributor to the team’s success.

“And much of that comes from tournament play,” Davidson said. “Tournaments are like the family vacations of a youth baseball team. Everyone remembers them. Every year, we would head to Jersey to start the season and play the best teams in the Northeast at our age group. The goal wasn’t to win —  it was to get a feeling for how our community team compared to the select club teams down there.”

This year, the Guilderland players faced off against a Yankees-sponsored team; a team that had won the United States Amateur Baseball League World Series several times; and a team coached by Jeff Frazier, former Major League Baseball player for the Tigers.

“The kids and the parents have a blast and we learn a lot about our team — we bring the best parts of the teams we play home and make them a part of us,” said Davidson.

The kids play travel, recreational, and school ball until Memorial Day when they compete in more tournaments. When the players were 9 years old, they came in second to Guilderland’s 10-year-olds at the Battle by the Capital, a 10U tournament.  

When the team members were 10, they were invited to Yardley, Pennsylvania to play in an invitational tournament hosted by a team they met at regionals when they were 8-year-olds, which Davidson termed “an absolutely awesome experience.”

When the team members were 11 last year, they went to the Cal Ripken Memorial Day classic at Ripken Experience in Aberdeen, Maryland.

“It was a 40-team tournament with teams from all over the East Coast and we won the whole thing,” said Davidson. “We went to Aberdeen again this year with the 11U, 12U, and 13U teams and had an absolute blast.”

Once the recreational season is over, the focus is on all-star practices and the post season, said Davidson. “The boys have taken the Eastern New York State title at 8U, 9U, 11U, and 12U,” he said. “This year, we will head to Cooperstown and then to the Cal Ripken World Series in Branson, Missouri. It’s hard to imagine a better way to see these kids off to the big field.”

It will be Davidson’s last hurrah. He works as a project engineer and plans to retire from coaching after the World Series.

He wants to spend more time with his four sons, who range in age from 10 to 16, before they graduate and go off to college, he said.

Right now, team members and their families are busy raising funds to cover travel and hotel expenses as well as extra uniforms for the World Series. A GoFundMe page has been set up with a goal of raising $25,000. As of July 25, close to $9,000 had been raised.

“It’s a lot of money but, you know, it’s worth it,” said Davidson. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

What will happen after that?

“I hope the team decides to stay together,” said Davidson. “They’re on the big field after this year, and they really need somebody that’s played baseball at a very high level to be able to take that next step.”

Davidson has no regrets about the time he spent on the team.

“It’s because of the kids,” he said of what’s kept him at it for the last six years. “They love it.”

He concluded, “Stuff like this doesn’t happen without everybody — and everybody’s in”