CHARACTER COUNTS

Little League coach delivers moving message after heartbreaking loss

Aug 19, 2014, 7:05 PM | Updated: 7:06 pm

If you have a young son who plays baseball, you want him to play for a coach like this.

On Monday night, Cumberland, Rhode Island was eliminated from the 2014 Little League World Series in a heartbreaking 8-7 loss to Illinois.

Following the loss, with many of his players in tears, Rhode Island coach Dave Belisle delivered a two-minute on-field address to his team as moving as any that USA hockey coach Herb Brooks or Hickory basketball coach Norman Dale ever gave.

Rhode Island was one of the last eight American teams standing in this year’s LLWS. Belisle did an amazing job of reminding his despondent group how meaningful that was, and of how much they all meant to him.

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Little League coach delivers moving message after heartbreaking loss