The Metro Region Champions from Staten Island, N.Y., participate in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Little League World Series baseball tournament in South Williamsport, Pa., Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)

Many label the Little League World Series a once in a lifetime opportunity. And for most players it is. That goes for most leagues, too.

But not South Shore Little League.

Nope, for the Staten Island league it is the fourth time it has personally experienced the Little League World Series. This year’s team is the fourth since 1985 to reach South Williamsport and the latest to highlight just how strong the league is.

Obviously, a Series appearance is not needed to validate a league being outstanding. Making four Series appearances, including on each in four of the last five decades, however, puts South Shore on another level.

“We have talented players, hard working coaches and we have strong determination to win baseball games. That puts us over the top,” South Shore Little League president Vin Nicholo said. “We have a very good reputation in Staten Island and New York City for being a great league.”

The results speak for themselves. South Shore played in its first Series in 1985 before former Major League pitcher Jason Marquis helped lead it there again in 1991. The 2009 squad reached the U.S. Semifinals and now it is the 2024 team showing the world how strong this Staten Island league is.

And while it took 15 years to reach the Series again, it was not like South Shore went anywhere. It has remained strong through the years and often is pushed hard by Staten Island rival Mid Island which has made three Series appearances, most recently in 2018.

The names change but the results do not. And like it has been for this year’s team, it always has been a team effort. Combine super coaching, hard-working players and unselfish volunteers and one has a league which continues thriving despite so much change in the youth baseball landscape.

“Everyone helps and a lot of little kids say they want to do the same thing as the older kids,” Nicholo said. “They see that it’s something they want to be a part of and that helps us having a strong league. So many people want to be a part of it.”

South Shore made its mark at the Series, rallying for a 6-3 win against South Dakota last Saturday. South Shore trailed 1-0 in the fourth inning and there was no one on base with two outs when five straight players delivered hits and put it ahead, 4-1. That came after Jake Romero worked out of a bases-loaded, no out jam in the first inning, not allowing a run.

That is South Shore baseball.

“They don’t give up. They follow me into battle and they’re not giving up,” South Shore manager Bob Laterza said. “They know we can always come back.”

Laterza has been a Staten Island youth baseball fixture and is a 32-year Little League coaching veteran. It is coaches like Laterza who does not have a son playing on the team, who have helped provide the heart beat which helps keep South Shore pounding strong.

A mentor who has influenced countless players over the years is getting a day in the sun, coaching at the Series for the first time. His fingerprints have long been on the league’s success but Laterza getting to experience the Series from the field seems a just reward for someone who has volunteered so much free time over the years without ever asking for any publicity.

“That was my biggest joy, seeing Bob get this opportunity,” He’s been doing this forever People forget sometimes that this is a volunteer position,. Nobody gets paid and he’s volunteered his time for 32 years, long after kids left the league. We love Bob in our league.”

Laterza has helped his current team keep improving since the core came together three years ago. It won state championships at the 10 and 11U levels the two previous seasons and went undefeated at the state tournament, winning five straight games to reach the Metro Regional. There, South Shore overcame multiple-run deficits against Rhode Island and Connecticut before handing New Jersey its first loss this summer, winning the championship, 5-0.

South Shore Little League has a family feel to it and this run to the Series sure has made the family proud with former players, including Marquis reaching out and offering both congratulations and tips.

Not that the pride is limited to Staten Island. The buzz has been growing louder with each win all the way and now South Shore is New York’s team as much as the Yankees and Mets are.

“It’s a big thing out here. It’s a very big deal,” Nicholo said. “We had good support with districts and states, but now the whole island and more are behind us.”

That includes all those aspiring, young baseball players. This team is filled with 12-year-olds but those players are larger than life in the younger players’ eyes. To them, they might as well be Major Leaguers.

And that can only help South Shore’s future. That was the case in 1985, 91 and 2009. Who knows when and if South Shore will reach the Series again, but the league certainly is an terrific shape.

And there appears to be know end to its excellence.

“It’s great for the kids, it’s great for the league, and it’s great for the community,” Nicholo said. “Hopefully, it’s something which helps not just our league, but all the leagues in Staten Island.”