Danny Boley, the manager and coach of El Segundo’s Little League World Series championship team, told a packed Good Friday breakfast audience that the title reflected years of work on fundamentals, mindset and community backing.

Speaking at the El Segundo Rotary Club event held at the Embassy Suites Hotel on April 18, 2025, Boley described the squad’s rise — from early losses in district play to the walk‑off home run that sealed the Williamsport championship — as the result of sustained focus on character and preparation. “Control what you can control. Attitude, respect, love, gratitude,” Boley said, listing the values he and his fellow coaches emphasized to players.

The story matters, Boley and others said, because the team’s run drew attention to El Segundo and illustrated how youth sports can teach broader life lessons. Mayor Pro Tem Ryan Baldino, who introduced speakers, said it was “truly an honor and a privilege for me to represent the city of El Segundo at such an important community event.” Baldino and other city and school officials attended the breakfast, where organizers also recognized the event’s multi‑decade history.

Boley traced the championship to a multi‑year process of building a team culture. He said his coaching staff — including Tim Abrams and Eddie Lee, whom he called “the engine” behind the team — focused on developing mental toughness and mutual support rather than on pageantry or on preening rituals. He described moments of adversity that shaped the group, including an early district loss and a late comeback in a double‑elimination district final. Reflecting on the Williamsport final, Boley singled out the players who contributed in key moments, including the player he named Lewis, who hit the decisive home run in the championship game.

Boley said the players learned to handle setbacks and to keep their focus on team goals: “If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have won the game in the way we did,” he recounted attributing a remark to pitcher Max Baker after a game, noting the team’s mindset in the dugout. He also told a moment of sportsmanship in Williamsport: after a Curacao player who had earlier trash‑talked his team later came off the field, Lewis put a hand on him and offered encouragement.

Audience reaction and community response were recurring themes. Boley said the team received letters from around the world, including notes from people who had never watched youth baseball before but followed the run and were moved by the players’ conduct. He credited parents and local volunteers with supporting the team’s development and said the experience left a lasting bond among teammates and families.

The breakfast program also included remembrances of the event’s history (organizers traced the tradition to a 1967 gathering), musical performances by the El Segundo High School Choir and short remarks from city officials and Rotary Club leaders. Organizers thanked sponsors including Chevron, the El Segundo Unified School District and the Embassy Suites Hotel for hosting the gathering.

Boley closed by returning to the life lessons he said sports can teach: “Really amazing things happen when you treat people right. When you love unconditionally, really amazing things happen.” He then took questions from the audience.

The event combined a community tradition with local recognition of the Little League team’s achievement and the volunteer coaches, parents and city officials who supported the run to Williamsport.