RAPID CITY - When the Canyon Lake Little League team earned a trip to the Little League World Series, it accomplished more than simply becoming the first South Dakota team ever to have done so. Canyon Lake untapped a great sense of community pride, shared purpose and enthusiastic support from the Rapid City baseball community.

"We are absolutely thrilled with what they've done," says Harney League president Scott Jacobson. "We had a board meeting last night and everybody in our league was just so excited that a Little League team from Rapid City got to Williamsport. Our kids played against the Canyon Lake kids the last couple of summers, and we are all proud of their accomplishments and we're standing behind them all the way. Once you leave Rapid City, the individual league thing goes away and we all bond together behind the one Rapid City team that is advancing."

Andy Schultz, president of the Timberline Little League, agreed.

"My kids and I watched the first two games and as a president of a Little League, and the parent of a Little Leaguer, I'm just elated that Canyon Lake reached such a high level of play. They played wonderfully and you take out an inning or two, and they could have won every game."

"I think they did really well for being there for the very first time and having all of that exposure heaped on them," Box Elder Bandit Ball Little League president Doug Keyser said. "That has to be tough the first time for anybody regardless of age. They did well."

All expect the Canyon Lake experience to be a boon to youth baseball in Rapid City and the region.

"It gives a glimmer of hope to all the Little League teams," says Jacobson. "We've been competing for 50 years and nobody had ever gone to Williamsport. Now they do it, so why can't we?

"We had a board meeting last night and it was suggested that we put hitting tees in our batting sheds so the kids can hit all year around like the Canyon Lake kids have been doing."

The Canyon Lake team's success is considered even more important because the number of Little League players in Rapid City has been declining over the past few years. It is the hope of those involved with Little League that this success will fuel a renewed interest in youth baseball.

As for the ballplayers who participate in Little League baseball and softball in Rapid City, the camaraderie extends far beyond the bounds of a Little League district.

"I would venture to guess that every Little Leaguer in Rapid City is watching the Canyon Lake kids," says Jacobson. "They've played against them and they know those kids and are all friends across the town anyway, so they are watching and cheering for them."

Now the wait for next season begins, but Little League players in Rapid City will have more to motivate them toward their goals: They can dream of having a summer like Canyon Lake in 2008.