Sayville’s Little League had some big winners this year for the annual Williamsport tournament, held in Pennsylvania and known as the Little League World Series.

The 9- to 11-year-old boys’ team won the New York District 35 Championship, as did the 8- to 10-year-old girls’ team.

Williamsport teams come from local Little League organizations and each player must be registered to play for a Sayville Little League team.

As the Little League season comes to a close in the summer (it begins around the last week of March), the Little League board has each head coach fill out a ballot on what they have observed in their players during season’s games.

Each teams’ coach votes on what players they would recommend to play on the Williamsport team.

Once the ballots are handed in, the board tallies up the votes and the players with the most are invited to play on the team. In addition, coaches are also voted on by their peers. Most teams consist of 12 players, with one or two alternates.

A few weeks prior to the tournament, coaches and players begin regular practices. “Not all of the players have played with each other, so there are some kinks that need to be worked out,” said Mark Ruf, a board member.

The tournament is a double elimination tournament (i.e., one loss still allows a team a chance at the championship). The first round is division, then sectionals, where as the team advances each level, they play teams from all over New York State.

The winner of the state tournament goes on to play at the Little League World Series, which is an internationally televised sporting event.

Manager of the winning Sayville boys’ team, Steve Gennari, said that the players were “resilient” and “learned to find a way to win.”

“There’s nobody that works harder than us,” said Gennari.

With two wins coming from behind to advance in the tournament, Gennari said the players “don’t quit and give it their all.”

Richie Dumais, coach of the Sayville girls’ team, said his experience leading the players was “extremely rewarding.”

“They developed into both great players and great students of the game,” said Dumais.

The girls’ team had bonded early, and this gave way to a winning dynamic as a group.

“They showed resilience, pride, and drive throughout the tournament,” said Dumais, who credited their win equally to fellow coaches John McLaughlan and Dave Tellier.

“I look forward to watching them grow next year and winning it again!” said Dumais.