Three Cheers for Andrew Warde High School Class of 1976 Crimson Eagle Ed Szymansky & His Shelton National Little Leaguers

Andrew Warde High School Class of 1976 graduate Ed Szymansky is making quite a name for himself as the manager of the Shelton National Little League team.

The squad won its first game of the Little League World Series yesterday, defeating Canyon Lake, South Dakota, 9-4. The win came after an opening night loss to Waipio, Hawaii, 3-1.

"You've got to put it (the opening night defeat) behind you," said the former Crimson Eagle, pictured in the 1976 Flame yearbook photo above. "Baseball's a funny game," emphasized Szymansky, after his squad overcame an early 1-0 deficit Saturday at historic Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. "We win (17 games) to get here. Lose one, (and) the shoulders droop a little bit."

He added, "We had a little talk (last night) when we got back to the hotel room. Don't look behind you. Look ahead."

Szymansky, who celebrated his 50th birthday today, credited his team for handling all the pressure of being on national television and playing before a crowd of over 12,000 people. "There's a lot of pressure on these kids, the crowd, all the press, and stuff," he acknowledged. "They're up there pressing. They're trying hard to impress."

The manager's son, Jake (pictured below), is the leftfielder and scored a run during a seven-run fourth-inning rally. Shelton took the lead for good by plating two runs in the second inning before breaking the contest open two innings later.

Ed Szymansky, one of our former classmates at Andrew Warde High School, will lead his charges against Citrus Park, Tampa, Florida, Monday evening at 6 o'clock on ESPN2 in the final game of pool play. The top two teams from the pool move into the quarterfinals which begin Wednesday.

Watch the feature news story about Shelton National Little League's victory over Canyon Lake, South Dakota, courtesy of WTNH-TV channel 8. My good friend and former sports anchor at News 12 Connecticut, Mark Robbins, is in Shelton covering local reaction to the series. Click the title of the post above to watch the video without the theme music.



Paul

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Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film".