To all parents, players and fans of the Wheat Kings,

I was very disappointed that we did not receive a bid to the 2008 NBC World Series that will be starting August 1. I am sure you are as well.

I am very proud of our players and how they came together, finishing 22-15, finishing fourth in the Midwest Regional, where we lost to the #1 team by a run and were eliminated to the third place team on some unfortunate situations. Going 4-2 in that tournament is something to be proud of.

When we planned the team this past winter and spring we had set our main goal of becoming 'a team' and doing well in the NBC World Series. I have NO DOUBT that if we had the chance, we would have had a very good showing in the NBC.

I wanted to bring our aggressive style of play to the fans that will be there at Lawrence-Dumont, but it will not be for whatever reasons.

Everyone should be proud of our Wheat Kings players as they gave everything they had, especially against the more talented teams we had played. We won over some very good quality teams and didn't take a back seat to ANYONE.

However, I want to thank you for being there and supporting this team through our up-and-downs, the summer heat, etc.

I also want to thank my coaches, Shawn Bennett and Steve Jensen. They volunteered their time to the team with no pay, and spending a lot of time away from their loved ones--to be part of the Wheat Kings summer.

Another thanks goes to Charles "Groucho" Minshul-Ford, our athletic trainer. We kept him busy with the scrapes, muscle pulls, etc. He was there to help our players to get on the field or just make it through a game.

And without our sponsors and hosts families, we could not have been able to even have a team due to the financial burden it takes.

Our special thanks goes to what the team calls our "MVP", Nancy Artaz (Miss Nancy). She helped raise money, found the hosts famillies, got players jobs, and took on ANY problems that the coaches and players had.

Please thank them if you run into them, as this would not be possible without their efforts.

Finally, I am like all of you as I thought we had played well enough to get to the NBC, but I am proud of the way our team performed under all kinds of adversity with injuries, etc. It was a very successful summer and I know that when all the players go on to college this fall, they will have improved due to the summer of '08. This will only help for that challenge in 2009!

Thank you all and God Bless

Mark "Carv" Carvalho
General Manager/Head Coach
Wichita Wheat Kings