Middle Men Bring Little League Tournament to Goshen

James Bartleson and Glenn Wyatt wanted to bring “top notch competitive” youth baseball to Cape May County while allowing families to enjoy the summer atmosphere and amenities that shore communities have to offer.
The Middle Township men along with a host of dedicated volunteers organized the first “War at the Shore” little league tournament at Goshen Complex, Aug. 5 through 7, with 38 teams participating.
Local squads such as the Cape May County Sea Wolves, Panthers, and Storm; the Dennis Township all-stars; and the Wildwood Tide Runners were joined by clubs from towns as far away as Scranton, Pa., and Long Island, N.Y., for the three-day extravaganza.
Five fields at the Clarence Davies Recreation Complex hosted a whopping 62 games for age groups of 9, 10, 11 and 12-year-olds.
“We brought about 400 families to the area to enjoy the competition and the local hospitality,” said Bartleson, a retired police officer and Court House resident. “Our local little leagues end their seasons in June and shortly after that for the district all-star kids. This was a way to bring a bunch of kids together and enjoy the game of baseball and family time.”
Bartleson noted that area children must often travel almost an hour to compete with their “home” traveling teams. The Sea Wolves organization offers Cape May County youngsters an opportunity to play against top-level competition with far fewer travel headaches for parents.
John Oliva of Court House organized the umpiring crew for all of the games.
“It was a great weekend spent with fellow umpires from across Cape May, Atlantic and Cumberland counties,” said Oliva, a Middle Township Public Works employee. “I heard from many coaches that we had a top notch crew of officials and that was nice feedback to get. We worked hard to make it a professional event.”
Oliva parked his family camper in a back lot so umpires working on and off all day could relax with air conditioning and satellite TV.
Other key volunteers included Frank Dougherty, Sean Dougherty, Eric Perdomo and Jimmy Collins. The event was supported by the Middle Township Recreation Department. Golf carts were supplied by Jim Gardner. The township’s Baseball and Softball Association operated the concession stand.
These days Bartleson runs a modular home business and serves as a sales manager for an assisted living company. He said an event so large included many challenges. “We handled everything, including marketing, scheduling, collecting fees, daily phone calls and lots of emails.”
With cooperative weather and the devotion of many volunteers, the “War at the Shore” came off with great success.
“We received great satisfaction in seeing our hard work pay off,” said Bartleson. “To see the expressions and excitement of the children made it all worthwhile.”
Bartleson said he contemplated the tournament concept over the winter but wondered if baseball in August would work out. Seeing 38 teams and 400 families gave him his answer.
“We might be able to handle 46 teams if we use the high school field,” he noted.
Bartleson and Wyatt, a Rio Grande resident, along with a handful of others handled maintenance between each game, including smoothing the infield, re-lining the chalk and emptying trash cans.
Bartleson said the Sea Wolves organization came about in May of this year with the goal of competing in tournaments and eventually, participating in the prestigious Tri State Elite league.
“We’re looking for a Cape Express (soccer club) model,” he said. “We want to develop teams at early age levels with professional training.”
Bartleson and Wyatt both have sons playing for the Sea Wolves. He said they’re “just parents who took the bull by the horns to start a team.” He said the Wolves are “still in the infancy stage.” They’ll host tryouts at the Goshen Complex, 6 – 8 p.m., Aug. 16 and 18, for the fall season.
“We’re looking for commitments to the fall and one or two days per week of winter training to continue into the spring,” he said. “Since we are at the end of the map, almost every game is considered traveling but we’ll try to keep it within an hour of distance.”
This season’s tournament winners included, Liberty Bell, Pa., 12U; South Jersey Sand Sharks, 11U; East Vineland Aces, 10U; and East Vineland again in the 9U division.
“We couldn’t have been more proud of all the kids. It was a real family atmosphere,” said Bartleson, whose 15-year-old daughter, Alyssa, opened the festivities with a spirited rendition of the National Anthem. “It’s great to see kids still getting serious about baseball at this level. A lot of planning, time and effort went into making a great weekend for all involved and we were glad that everything went off without a hitch.”