Hello everyone. We completed a three league Winter Season for the first time, and we are looking forward to four leagues in the spring, in large part due to your demands for a league in Pembroke Pines. There were a total of 30 Koala Kickball teams in the spring, making this list harder to crack! Your 2017 Winter Finale Poll by Jason…
1. La Familia (30 Points;3 first place votes; Miami Lakes)
La Familia dominated all winter. Anything can happen in kickball so it’s pretty hard to be perfect, but other than a couple games by one or two runs all season, La Familia was playing on another level. No doubt that in their minds they would leave no space for error. They went undefeated. Much of this team was together last season on their way to a similar feat with the Gutierrez siblings, but fell just short in a playoff upset. The big addition of the two Morales brothers, former PSN Slidaz, made this familia hard to touch. It’s great to see a group of players brought together through league competing and having fun. The long establishment of these players together and the volume of competition at Lakes earned these guys the number one spot on the poll. Congratulations guys.
2. Make Kickball Great Again (27 Points; Tropical Park)
Well, well well…. ☺ It’s my very special honor to discuss this Tropical Park Champions in this poll. One bandwagon commissioner ☺ who kept them off their poll earlier this season said they just didn’t think this team very good. After last season’s Good Squad, which I thought I put all my kickball resources into defeating Life’s A Pitch and falling short twice, I didn’t have high prospects for this upcoming season. However, we brought together a really fun group combining some players from Miami Lakes including championship hungry players from Sit on My Base, My Base, My Base in Lakes who just fell short the season before in the championship in extra innings. Make Kickball Great Again lost their first game of the season by a land slide to Life’s a Pitch and finished the season with two ties, just edging out the tough Tropical Competition for the second seed during the season. For me there is not enough I can say here. We finished strong. The player we joked as our benchwarmer, Rudy, got 3 of the 4 championship RBI’s. Pretty sweet. Congratulations Team! I guess I wouldn’t be ceasing this moment properly if I didn’t thank the team for such a great all around season and said one more thing. It’s taken 14 KOALA seasons to get here. HAHA RENE AND GIO I”M THE FIRST CHAMPION COMMISOINEEEERRRR!!!
3. Life’s a Pitch (24 Points; Tropical Park)
That’s exactly what many teams thought the day they had to play them. Life’s a Pitch won three championships, went undefeated twice, and came close to a fourth championship to sweep for a full year. Arguably the most impressive tenor by one team in KOALA KICKBALL. Their final record must have been something along the lines of 41-3. The fun character they brought, help in running the league, and tough competition will be missed and certainly leave a void at Tropical Park this upcoming season as they depart for the new Pembroke Pines League. However, let’s be honest, I’m sure some will be excited to see you guys leave so another team has a chance to win at Tropical Park!
4. Ball’s Deep (19 Points; Miami Lakes)
The fourth seed from the A division. It just so happens that I was able to play my last regular season game with Ballbarians this past season against Balls Deep. I knew competition in Lakes was stiff, but I saw a focused competitive squad gearing themselves up for playoffs. After getting creamed that day from what I thought I had a good team, it was no surprise to me to see Balls Deep competing in the Finals. They earned their way to the finals winning tough games over Sit on My Base and This Pitch is Bananas. They had fun doing it. Look out for them next season!
5. Free Balling (17 Points; Tropical Park)
Originally considered the fun laid back team, they last season got a victory that may have been considered perhaps a top 3 KOALA Kickball upset. They beat Goon Squad last year in the semifinals with a team, that in their own words was crippled. However, they have consistently won games and have emerged as having a great group of players and will likely field multiple all-stars this weekend. Doubt if you dare, but this is a really good team. They could be in the way of your Tropical Park Trophy next season!
6. Blackout City (11 Points; Miami Lakes)
Talented squad. Experienced players. They had one thing in mind this season and that was win, and they did a good job at it. They came out of the Miami Lakes A as the 6th seed with 6 points. It took a lot of effort to edge out that competition in Lakes to earn the number two spot, and they deserve credit for doing that. Unfortunately, that came to a crashing halt in their first round of playoffs to playoff juggernaut Sit on My Base.
7. Sit on My Base (10 points; Miami Lakes)
“Sit on My Base, My Base, my base”. I found out first hand in Tropical, that shit works. When that song comes on there is most likely a rally to follow. The culprit to Blackout City’s demise in the first round of playoffs. They fell to Ball’s Deep in semi-finals. The B division’s third seed. Say what? Hold on though, a core of this team made a run last season upsetting last season’s first seed. They just barely lost the championship last season to Wolfpack. This is not the team you want to face in your first round of the playoffs as a top seed. They are token to the level of competitive and marginal play out there and a reminder that anyone can make things happen on game day. I like the term playoff juggernauts.
8. This Pitch is Bananas (8 Points; Miami Lakes)
The former orange team (not named Ballbarians) in Miami Lakes gone yellow bananas. They’ve been out there a few seasons now and hungry for victory, and man they could almost taste it. Congratulations to the B division Champs, commissioner Trophy winners. They didn’t lose a game until they met Balls Deep’s conviction, losing in extra innings in possibly the best game in playoffs. It’s annoying to walk off the field posting an 8-1-1 record, but how could you hold your head down to that and mad kickball fun!
9. Wolfpack (8 Points; Miami Lakes)
To me personally, this is the most underrated team on this list due to their overall standing and good playoff performance. There may be a few in my opinion and your opinion, but competition was that stifling. Last season champs were a third seed in the A Division this season and a semi-finalist, losing to La Familia by only a score of just 2-0. A change in wind direction perhaps could have led to a different fate, but they certainly came out to play.
10. Commissioner’s Pole (5 Points; Tropical Park)
Wow. This team never backed down this season. Let’s just put it out there, they also probably are not happy for a call I made that helped to keep them out of semi-finals. They lost a crazy game to Your Pitch Makes My Kick Hard. I will say this. I faced this team with Make Kickball Great Again. The game should have been over and we should have gotten the W, or so we thought. They rallied the last inning to force a tie. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the only time they would do this during the season to win. In playoffs they were down big early and somehow, someway, found a way to close in. Definitely this seasons comeback team, in a tropical park competitive field that was way close. They are part or a group that has some of the longest standing players at Tropical Park. Hope to see you back next season. If you need motivation, Life’s a Pitch is gone!
Also receiving vote points were the following teams. My Pitch Makes Your Kick Hard (4 points; Tropical Park), they were a 5th seed, but a semi-finalist who handed Life’s a Pitch one of its 3 career losses. That’s worth mentioning. Opa Locka Goonz (1 Point; Miami Lakes) this second place team in the B Division, only losing to two teams this season. But they disrupted divisions beating the Number 2 seed from the A Division in season and played at a very high level. Welcome Cutler Bay, we will see more of you in the future. The Red Team (1 point; Cutler Bay), won the commissioners trophy in Cutler Bay with one loss and a dominating run differential. Also, congratulations to the Cutler Bay Champions, The Other Guys for their victory over there. Hope you all enjoy, thank you for being a part of the league! There is no way to measure the experience and bond that you all have created.