Good Morning Richard,

Well, we have all made it back safely and are getting back to our normal routines and getting ready to return to League play.

I would again like to thank you and the rest of the "Pif" tournament organizing committee for inviting us to come up and play. Our girls were amazed at the amount of people that came out to see the games, the amusements that were there for the children, the fireworks, and how friendly everyone was. We have been to our own USSSA States in Ocean City and World Series for USSSA and NSA and they don't even come close to what you do for the fans and players in Fleurimont. I myself, having spent 30 years in the Navy, have played around the world and nothing even comes close to the family atmosphere that your organization displays. It was an honour and a privilege to be part of the "Pif" 25th anniversary tournament. I hope to be able to participate in many others.

We really enjoyed the competition as you have some great teams and players, and with the exception of 2 or 3 teams, how closely matched eveybody was. I think the fans saw 3 pretty good ss play with the girls from Biermans, Construction Alain Raîche and our CeCe. For those teams that didn't do well, I hope it does not discourage them from coming back. You can only get better by playing against good teams. I know PENNIES did not start out winning eveything they played in. There were several years that were pretty tough. But we are like a family, doing things together in the off season, whether its a monthly pot-luck dinner or just getting together at David and Dotties for an afternoon. That is what makes us close and a team. We very rarely pick up any new players unless we have team members either stop playing or move out of the area. We did give 2 new players that are just out of high school a chance to play this year. They knew they wouldn't get to play in very many games, but they will gain some knowledge from our older players. Next year they will be ready to play for one of our lower Division teams and be able to play most every game.

PENNIES will be playing in the USSSA State Tournament in Ocean City in early August and in the Northeastern Division Nationals in Smithtown, NY in early September. I will ask some of the quality teams if they would like to play in next years Pif. At the very least, I will give them your e-mail address and ask them to get in touch with you and also get an e-mail address from them if they have one. I don't think I could talk any of our other Division 1 teams into coming up, but I will try. There might be a chance that I could get 12 or 13 girls to form an "all-star" team to be competitive with your teams. I will see.

Again, thank you very much for inviting us, answering all our questions, and for making us feel so welcome.

ED

Edward Smallacombe

edsmall@earthlink.net

ICQ # 22455380