2000 - Boyz Latest Piece of Gold
This Triple Crown Championship came at the very end of the baseball season. Boyz just kept ridin' despite the rough times. Eventually, they brought home the bacon for 2000. A very nice piece, taken from Long Island, New York. This title now makes 6 in 4yrs for the team.
Boyz 2000 - 11yr. Old NY Triple Crown Champions
TSLL Real Boyz
Here's some of the treasure we found out there in a lot of the tournaments we played in around New Jersey. It took a lot of Hardwork and effort, but we brought it all back to Teaneck.
The Men Behind The Boyz
You can find pictures of the many Real Boyz teams in the TSLL Photo Album, but this picture is here where it belongs, in the background. These guys have helped the Boyz from the very start back in '97 & 98, to be the best team they could be, still to this day. Coaches, that reinforced year-in and year-out, what it takes to be successful on any field you play on, anywhere. No doubt, it is the Boyz that have done the job, and us coaches are just real glad they let us hang around and play with them. From L-R, they are Steve Negrin, Marion Boykin, Leon Matthews, Kenny Rivera, and Randy Leer.
Another Man Behind the Boyz
You know the two guys to the left, but the coach on the right end, is Coach Miguel Perdomo. He joined our team in the 2000 season, and rode with us all the way to a Title. His son Miguel has been on the team from the beginning, and after a short break last season, was back with us, home to stay.
9/2000 - Boyz' Coaches Get Official Recognition
For The Record...
Since the Boyz have been together, there has been a formal history kept on them, dating back to when they were 7/8s in 1997. These histories have tracked their every move, game by game, season to season, and win, lose, or draw. It chronicles all the very hardwork it has taken from then to now, and showcases all the struggle and accomplishment. It looks at our kids and illustrates their growth in many ways. There aren't many copies around, but if you can catch one ('97, 98, 99, & 00), I think you'll find it most interesting. *Above is one of the latest issues ('99) of this continuing work,(from L-R) a photo page from the book, and the book's cover.
An Eternal Real Boyz Salute To Then & Now
The Real Boyz team has been together since 1997. Then as young 7/8s, they won titles and went undefeated. The following year in '98 as 9s they stayed together and won another Title. Now as 10s, they remain basically the same team with the same effort, and it won them another 2 Championships, all toll - 5 Titles in 3 years. It took a lot of hard work to do this, and the team has undergone changes and updates to keep up with what it takes to be successful on the very hard All-Star trail. Though nothing stays the same, the many players that have ridden with us, remain important keys to what we've accomplished as a team and a successful baseball program. With that, we will always salute any and all players that are, or have been Real Boyz. We know that wherever they are, they know what it takes to succeed in whatever field they're playing on. And they also know that, "Once a Real Boyz, Always a Real Boyz..."
Once Upon A Time, All That Glittered...Was Not Gold
Most times, less-than-perfect performances are swept under the rug clean out of sight. This Trophy was presented for 3rd Place in the 1998 Weehawken Tournament, to the TSLL 9yr. Old All-Stars. On a very dark Saturday, the team lost twice in one day (the only 2 games lost by these boys in a 2yr. period).
For a while, the small trophy received considerable scorn, as no one wanted to remember how it was gotten, when or where. Strangely, it found itself sharing space with all the other TSLL Championship 1st Place trophies. Somewhat of an oddity, it became a reminding symbol of motivation and continuing effort.
The 9s got revenge on their vanquishers in Weehawken, as both teams in the championship there were eliminated in the more competitive Dumont Tournament. And the TSLL 9s went on to undefeatedly win the division & league’s 1st title ever in the Dumont, as their ‘98 Champions.
It was a hard lesson to learn, but this unique 3rd Place trophy teaches it well, a gleaming reminder of what it takes, and takes, and takes to be #1.
"An obstacle is only a stepping-stone to success...So NEVER let defeat have the last word"
From MVP To T.E.A.M., Boyz All For One
Along with winning the 1998 Dumont Championship, this Most Valuable Player Trophy was to be given to one of the TSLL 9yr. Old All-Star players. Perhaps there was a player or two on the team that might’ve deserved the award, but the coaches thought the entire team should be recognized, as everyone helped to make them champs. The Dumont Tourny Administrators openly commented that this was the very first time in their history that the MVP Award was requested to be given to the entire team. In this regard, it became the T.E.A.M. award, for “Together Everyone Achieves More.”
One Moment In Time, Boyz Were Absolutely PERFECT!
It's hard to do anything absolutely perfect, but back when the Boyz started in 1997, we did just that. The young 7/8s team went a perfect 21-0. In that record we won 2 Championships, The Lyndhurst and The Emerson All-Star Tournaments. They were the very first titles ever won by this age division, and the only championships won for the league that year. It was a real long ride, but it was that initial effort that has come to make the Boyz what they are today, uniquely one of TSLL's most successful teams in its history.
They were just starting out and learning the game, but they worked hard and won it all, 2x. Oh, it got hard at times, and there were moments when it didn't look like we were going to do it. But they hung in there and fought through all the sweat & battles to win every game they played that very first All-Star summer.
It's hard enough to win championships, but to win 2 of them, and then to go undefeated for the season is something that doesn't happen very often to little boys (or any boys for that matter). So far, the team has gone on to win many more titles, but not undefeated. Who knows, it might happen again at some point in time, but it'll never be like the first time.
*Directly below here are certificates from Major League Baseball, the State of NJ, and the Town of Teaneck, all recognizing that perfect All-Star season...
Real Boys Certificates of Excellence 1997
What's A Real Boyz?
Often people have asked where the name "Real Boyz" comes from, and here I will tell the story...
After winning the first championships as 7/8s back in '97, a story was written in the newspapers about the little team's victories. It was entitled, "The Real Boys of Summer." It was called that basically because they were actually "real little boys," unlike the Major League variety that happened to be playing a kid's game, too, at the same time. I guess with usage in print, on the internet, etc., the name stuck, and we somewhat unofficially became Teaneck's "Real Boys."
The next year, in winning the '98 Dumont Tournament as 9s, the team came to drop the "s" and replaced it with a "z" for "Boyz" (kids - go figure!). It really came about more so from one of the coaches dragging out the word as "Boysssss" during our cheers of "South-Side," for Teaneck Southern. The extended, humming "s" sounded like a "z." And so we inconspicuously became the "Real Boyz.."
In 1999, the "Real" was somewhat folded away (except in formal settings) and the team was known simply as the "Boyz." Since the team has remained mostly the same over the years, the name has carried on. So much that by friend and foe alike, the team is known and referred to as the "Boyz."
From then to now, in this year 2000, winning New York's prestigious Triple Crown Tournament has again cemented a real confidence in this team and has made the name even larger. You don't just give yourself a name (and you sure as heck don't get handed championships), you have to EARN IT! So you see, the Boyz came across the name quite honestly, not from bravado, or by mistake, or anything else but by being really prepared and then by winning.
Albums: TSLL Real Boyz Trophy Case 2001 
