I am the manager of the District 10 champion Verde Valley Little

League 10-11 All-Star team. In regards to teams dropping out of the state

Tournament, I thought I would drop you a note and explain our situation. We were forced to drop out due to financial reasons. We simply couldn't afford to travel that far on such short notice. We had planned on going to Casa Grande (the original site), and many of the parents were going to commute to work. They had actually worked out schedules where they could go in early and leave early on game days. When the tournament was moved to Nogales, that was no longer an option. When we initially heard it was moving to Nogales, we had safety concerns like all the other teams, but after we discussed it, we felt that really wasn't an issue. Nogales definitely deserved to host a state tournament. They have traveled all over the state for many years, including bringing a 9-10 team here to Cottonwood in 2006. I read through your editorial and couldn't agree more. Our kids just want to play ball. We have found a tournament in Flagstaff where we will be playing in mid August. We have had numerous businesses step up to assist us with the expenses and the travel will be much easier on our families. I understand that Nogales had a great tournament. I congratulate Jorge Maldonado and all the other volunteers for pulling it off. I ran most of that 2006 tourney I mentioned above, but had two months to plan for it. What Nogales did in a week is truly remarkable. We really regret missing out on it but we hope to see all the teams at the state tournament in 2010.

Sonny Zale

Cottonwood