SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. \u2014 Proud family members of the Sweetwater Valley and Tijuana Municipal Little League teams got to watch their loved ones\u2019 dreams of playing in the Little League Baseball World Series come true from the stands.<\/p>\n
A lucky few had an even closer view.<\/p>\n
Sweetwater Valley Little League\u2019s Joe Griffin coaches his son, while Zach Patterson coaches his stepson. Tijuana Municipal\u2019s Marcelo Santamar\u00eda coaches his nephew.<\/p>\n
All three families have made memories since arriving at the Little League World Series last week.<\/p>\n
Sweetwater Valley was eliminated on Saturday, while Tijuana Municipal plays Tokyo\u2019s Joto Little League in an elimination game on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a great experience,\u201d said SVLL player James Griffin on Saturday, talking about sharing the moment with his dad. \u201cHe\u2019s been coaching me since I was little, and it\u2019s always been fun having him being a coach and always there to help me.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Sweetwater](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sut-l-llws-0823-004.jpg\")
Sweetwater Valley\u2019s Zachary Patterson and his stepson Asher Giglio #3, and James Griffin #12, and his father James Griffin pose for a photo outside Volunteer Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
In fact, it was James Griffin who brought his father into baseball.<\/p>\n
\u201cI call myself a serial volunteer, so when the need came up, I stepped up and took that position,\u201d said Joe Griffin, who started coaching when his son was 4 years old. Since then, they have both grown.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year \u2026 he gets a lot better at baseball and I get a little bit better at coaching,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Patterson has watched firsthand as his stepson, Asher Giglio, has fallen in love with baseball over the last three years.<\/p>\n
Asher was 9 years old and was not interested in the sport at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember playing catch with him in the park near our old home, and he was very frustrated because he couldn\u2019t catch a pop fly,\u201d Patterson said. \u201c(but) he caught on super fast, and he is very dedicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Sweetwater](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sut-l-llws-0823-015.jpg\")
Sweetwater Valley\u2019s Asher Giglio #3, representing the West region, talks with Zachary Patterson before playing Phenix City, representing the Southeast Region, at Howard J. Lamade Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Then, last week, he got to see Asher \u2014 who said he learned about \u201cthrowing and catching the ball\u201d from his stepdad \u2014 represent the West Region on the big stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fun because I get to be here with not only my friends but also my parent and sharing the field with him,\u201d Asher said.<\/p>\n
Patterson, who played baseball in high school, said he found his love for the sport again through Asher and his other son, Jax.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust being able to play catch with them everywhere we would go, if it\u2019s the beach or the park, we would always bring our gloves,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m kind of like a kid at heart, so I love just being able to experience that with my sons.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Tijuana](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sut-l-llws-0823-003.jpg\")
Tijuana Municipal coach Marcelo Santamaria and his nephew Gael Santamaria #8 pose for a photo near at Volunteer Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Santamar\u00eda has trained his nephew Gael since he was 3 years old. Baseball runs in their family. His siblings, including Gael\u2019s father, used to play, as did their children.<\/p>\n
Along the way, Marcelo and Gael Santamar\u00eda have learned how to balance the coach-uncle dynamic.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s my coach, and I respect his decisions,\u201d said Gael Santamar\u00eda. \u201cHe\u2019s really smart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcelo Santamar\u00eda noted that being in Williamsport is a unique experience in itself. But sharing it with his nephew makes it even more special.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so exciting to see him having fun walking onto and off the field,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m double happy to be there, both as a coach and as part of his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little League World Series<\/p>\n
Who: Tijuana Municipal vs. Japan<\/p>\n
When: 10 a.m.<\/p>\n
TV: ESPN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. \u2014 Proud family members of the Sweetwater Valley and Tijuana Municipal Little League teams got…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442451,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[181,74,76,75,127,1696],"class_list":["post-442450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-latest-headlines","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-sports","tag-top-stories-sdut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}