Sara Stadem | Editor
While many parents were visiting with their kids about the events and memories of the first week of school at West Central, one father and son duo were creating memories of a lifetime at the Little League World Series.
Devin Alfson and his son, Gunnar, started their journey to the 2021 Little League World Series long before this summer.
Alfson, a former amateur baseball player himself, explained years before playing for the Sioux Falls Little League team, his sons played for Canova.
“The way I could play as long as I could is because they would get the Canova Gang schedule out for us and from there, they would put the 10u and 12u schedule out between our games,” Alfson explained. “So, we might be in Canova seven days a week for all of us to play but we were all playing. Now, I put my career on hold to watch my boys.”
Once the drive became too much, Alfson made the move for his boys to be playing baseball in the West Central and Sioux Falls programs and also took on the role of coaching as well. Alfson became the assistant coach to the Sioux Falls Little League 12u team in 2018 when his son, Caden, joined the team and head coach for Gunnar’s team.
To be a part of the Sioux Falls Little League, Alfson explained there are assessments that are held with the coaches and players. “We have a draft with the coaches and you put your team together, start your practices and get your games going for your season.”
Currently, there are seven 12u teams in the Sioux Falls Little League with approximately 84 kids participating. There is also a 10u division and an 8u division with a machine pitch, Alfson explained. “So, it’s been growing each year. We aren’t sure what next year will bring yet with the fields and if there will be more fields built or what,” Alfson said.
So, how does one get to go to the Little League World Series? Alfson explained, “Mid-June we had an all-star selection. We had the coaches get together to decide the 14 all-star kids. We decided to go with the most players we could have which was 14 to give more kids the opportunity to play.” He continued, “From there, practice pretty much started the next week and we have been practicing since then.”
The Sioux Falls Little League team was led by head coach/manager Mike Gorsett, with Alfson as assistant coach, coaching pitchers and catchers in addition to first base coach and assistant coach Jeff Riley as dugout manager.
Alfson explained the Sioux Falls Little League team had quite the ride this year, something that was unreal for him. “It was a heck of a ride; it was something unreal! We were the first team in South Dakota to go that far. It was a historic run,” Alfson said.
The team took home the wins at the regional tournament and State, according to Alfson, and went on to Whitestown, Indiana, which advanced them to the Little League World Series completing their season with a record of 11-3.
When asked about the best part of coaching the all-star team, Alfson said, “Mike, Riley and myself have all coached together for the past three years and virtually all the same kids, so, it was nice because we know each other,” Alfson said. He continued, “So, to get to share this together was pretty amazing. To get to know the kids better on the field, obviously I’m a baseball guy myself so this was a pretty unreal situation all around, one that I won’t forget.”
According to Alfson, the players had quite the schedule while they were on their trip, which was 25 days from the time they left Sioux Falls to when they got back.
“There were schedules all the time, lunch schedules, practice times, interview times… there was something to be done at all times for the kids,” Alfson said. “The players were treated like they were MLB players, they were treated really well, that’s for sure. Three coaches, 14 kids, it was definitely herding cats no doubt but it was great!” Alfson also explained he would like to see what the experience would be during a non-COVID year. “I’m sure it would have been packed. We had to have a COVID test every other day for everyone unless you were vaccinated,” he said. Alfson continued, “There was even one team in our hotel that came down with it and got ejected.”
Alfson also shared how he will hold the memories of the fields the team got to play on during the tournament. “There are two fields down there. The main field is Howard J. Lamade Stadium and that’s where they played the final two days, that’s where you want to be on the final two days,” Alfson shared. He continued, “They are just pristine, they are stadiums just shortened up. The whole experience was really hard to wrap your brain around because it was so amazing, the atmosphere, the placement of the stadiums, playing catch with my son on Lamade field… Not many dads will get to say they got to do that. It’s a memory I won’t forget.”
Gunnar agreed, “The fields, definitely, were awesome. It was crazy how cool they were.”
When asked what his favorite memory of the World Series was, Gunnar said, “When we won our first game because people were doubting us. They didn’t think we would win a game there and that we would even make it there.” He continued, “Then we won the first game and to go on and win two more. It was all just really awesome.”
Alfson said, “We want to thank everyone locally, Hartford and Sioux Falls and surrounding areas for their support and donations. It was really good to hear from people that you hadn’t heard from in the past for a while, to hear good game and that they were watching.” Alfson concluded, “To hear that our little run was putting smiles on their faces during this time, with everything going on, we are pretty proud.”