Fairfield American Little League

28

Aug, 2020

Justin Saja Receives 2020 JK Sportsmanship Award

(Editor's note: In our original story, we incorrectly identified this as the third consecutive year the league presented the JK Award to a 12-year-old player. 2020 is the fifth consecutive year. We apologize for this error.)

For the fifth consecutive year, Fairfield American Little League presented the Joey Kulaga “JK” Sportsmanship Award. The recognition is presented annually to a 12 year-old player who consistently puts the needs of the league and his team above his own and best demonstrates the ideals of sportsmanship including, fairness, civility, honesty, respect and responsibility. The former FALL player for whom this award is named, Joey Kulaga, embodied all of these characteristics, and more. Joey was a model player and made a lasting impact on the teammates and coaches he came into contact with throughout his FALL career. FALL is grateful to the Kulaga family for continuing to partner with us on this important recognition.

The league was excited to name Justin Saja as the 2020 recipient of the JK Sportsmanship Award. In a testament to the positive impression Justin made on those around him, he was first nominated by a manager that hasn’t had him on a roster since AA! Scott Acheychek’s nomination read in part:

“I’ve coached him numerous times at a much younger age and he is what Little League, especially non-summer travel, is all about. He played from an early age but completely fell in love with the sport in AA with the Tin Caps. He started playing more and more - spring, summer house league, and fall. He developed as a player and became an asset to each team he has been on. He is an all-around great kid with really good sports parents.”

Scott’s nomination was supported by all Majors managers, making this an easy decision. Justin’s current manager, Lucas Swineford, shared a story about the end of Justin's career that supports what we heard from Scott.

“Scott is 100% correct,Justin is a total positive to have on the roster — a pleasure to coach, and a positive teammate. Let me add this about his on-field development: In his final regular season game, the Tigers were down by 10 runs only 1/3 of an inning into the game. I brought Justin in to pitch with the bases loaded and he quickly got the final two outs of the inning. He then went on to pitch the next 4 innings, giving up only 2 runs! This was the most pitches he’s thrown in his Little League career by far. I asked him how he felt before sending him out for his final inning. He said he was a little tired but wanted to keep going. He asked me to keep an eye on him and pull him if I thought he looked tired. This is a perfect answer! A kid who wants to fight on because he knew he was helping his team, but he’s also ready to step aside the minute a teammate could maybe help more! And then, you remember how hard he worked as a player to get to the point where he is pitching 4 2/3 innings of great baseball on the Majors level? That he had the confidence to step on the mound down 10-0 in the first inning and get his team through it! The whole thing is just such a fantastic story.”

Majors commissioner Joe Swift welcomed a Mill Hill crowd to the ceremony, then Scott presented the award to the player he nominated. Justin was joined on the field by his parents, Colleen and Chris.

Congratulations Justin!!!

All-time winners of the JK Sportsmanship Award

2016: Sam Frank
2017: Andrew Dayton
2018: John Henry Kresser
2019: Mason Pasquale
2020: Justin Saja

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Fairfield American Little League

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28

Aug, 2020

Justin Saja Receives 2020 JK Sportsmanship Award

All-time winners of the JK Sportsmanship Award

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