What a wonderful and exciting time we had in China!  We loved the city, the history and the people. It was terrific. The hotel was fabulous and my room was spectacular. I had a panoramic view of the city -- the skies were blue during the day and clear in the evening.  There was little smog in the city while we were there.  It was an experience and adventure I will long remember.

Brandon and I would love to return to Beijing before the 2008 Olympics just to see the transformation that will have taken place.  A lot of sight seeing was crammed into a very short period of time and neither Brandon nor I could maintain the same momentum as everyone else.  So a couple of evenings we stayed in and ordered room service from the Italian restaurant at the hotel. They were lovely and quiet evenings.

Rob was really great with the boys.  He coached them well and did a terrific job with the players.  It was really Brandon's first time being in the dugout with Rob and he enjoyed every moment.  In addition, Rob presented himself very well during the opening ceremony and his presentation to the host of the Friendship Series.  It was also wonderful to see Katherine in China.  I know that Rob worked with her team for a couple days after the tournament ended and I would have loved to have seen the results.  Rob was truly in his "element" in China.

Parents will be parents and as usual critique each and every player, the coaching, where players are positioned, and how much playing time each boy gets -- nothing goes unnoticed.  This is the part of baseball I have come to dislike.

In Australia where it's not such a "group" trip one could easily move about without being noticed -- here it was a little more difficult.  One learns to be polite and excuse themselves from the group for one reason or another. If we had it to do over again, Brandon and I would travel to China without hesitation except that we would insist that Jim travel with us.  It is such a fascinating country with so much history that one can hardly expect to see all the sights in such a short period of time.  Despite the little annoyances this was a trip both of us will remember fondly.  Not many young men get this opportunity and we really appreciate your efforts in hosting this tournament and allowing Brandon to be a part of it.  We have a separate thank you going out to Rob over the next couple of days but we wanted to thank you for letting Brandon be a part of this wonderful trip.

Let us know when you're down south -- we've mentioned to Craig about the Dal Rae and he'd love to go there as well.

Regards,
Vivian

Bob,

As always your baseball followup was great reading. It is good to know that there are people like yourself and the Goodwill Coaches that continue to focus their attention on young men and baseball fundamentals. It is becoming a rare occurrence to see young men learn and practice our great game. Many are going to other sports as the coaching declines at the younger levels, and the competition becomes more and more scattered. The Goodwill Series is a great example of what a "game" can mean to a young man.

The host family Jordan was assigned to was absolutely the greatest. The 11 and 14 year old boys in the family became attached to Jordan and Jordan to them. I am sure they will be in contact for many years to come.

He explained his experience with his roomy's and his Expo teammates, as one he will never forget...and one that truly exemplified "Team."

His coaches, Rob and Mike, were teachers and surrogate father's in one. Jordan learned a lot about himself and a lot about baseball...and the food was awesome.

Jordan is in the middle of finals this week, and when they are complete, he said he will be sending a follow-up thank you letter for the opportunity to compete and enjoy the great learning experience in Australia.

As a father, I can't thank everyone enough...and a special "thank you" to Eleanor...what a saint she is.

In short, my son left as a 16 year old boy, and returned a young man.

Thanks again,

Eric

Mr. Williams,

I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to play baseball in China and Australia. I will never forget 2002, being 16 years old and getting a chance to travel to 2 different countries and do what I love - play baseball.

The coaching I received was awesome. I learned alot and will use the training I received to continue to improve my baseball skills. The chance to go to different countries and meet so many people that have the same interest as I do is an experience I will never forget.

Thanks again,
Louie Romero

Bob,

Hi, how's it going? Been wanting to email you but things have been pretty busy. My wife and I would like to thank you for giving Louie the opportunity to play for the Goodwill Series in China and Australia.

Louie has changed for the better in his maturity as a young man and as a baseball player thanks to your organization. He works harder than ever on the baseball field and has also become a better student.

It seems like so long ago on that hot June summer day in Phoenix when Louie went to the Area Code Baseball tryouts at Maryvale. As we drove home that day we never in our wildest dreams imagined that he would be asked to play in China and later be asked to play in Australia.

Please let Rob know that Louie really enjoyed being coached by him. We also appreciated Sara Brown's updates from Australia.

Please keep in touch and let us know of future opportunities to play with your organization as Louie is very interested.

Thanks again,
Roumaldo and Lisa Romero

Dear Mr. Williams,

I want to thank you for the opportunity you gave me to play baseball in China.  When my mom and dad first told me about the trip to China, I was very excited.  Going to China was so much fun.  I met so many new friends.  I played a lot of fun baseball.  The food was good, but I was happy to have McDonalds and KFC.  We did a lot of site seeing.  I even climbed the Great Wall with my mom and teammates.  The part I will never forget was meeting the players from Beijing.  I received so many nice gifts and after the last game I traded my glove with a player on the Beijing Polytechnic Team.  The boy that I traded with was nice and we hung out for a while.  The glove that he traded  is red with Chinese writing on it.  I use it every weekend when I play.  I even used it when I played in Cooperstown, N.Y.  My friends think it is cool and they liked hearing about China.

I learned so much and I will never forget this summer.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to play in China.

Sincerely,
David Armendariz