It is with very heavy hearts that we inform you of the unexpected passing of longtime GVLL coach and Board member Carlo Saldana. His sudden loss is profound to us as a league, and heartbreaking to the many who knew and worked with him and called him a friend, and to his wife and stepson who Carlo was devoted to and survive him.

Carlo was in many ways the heart of GVLL. For decades, year in and year out, there were few people who devoted more time and effort to ensuring our league ran successfully. Whether operationally - making sure fields were ready to play on and teams were equipped - or on the field - literally hundreds of GVLL players were directly coached by Carlo over the years - it would be difficult to find an aspect of the league that did not benefit from his wisdom and dedication.

Carlo was instrumental not only in developing GVLL’s tournament teams, but also was a driving force in creating the annual Memorial Day tournament played among GVLL and other local Little Leagues. He also served as a New York representative to Little League of America. Carlo’s impact extended past the confines of our league and has influenced the landscape of youth sports in Manhattan and beyond.

Carlo’s love for the game, and passion for teaching it to others, has shaped the hundreds of young players he coached, and fellow coaches he mentored. In the coming months, GVLL will be looking at ways to appropriately memorialize Carlo during our upcoming season and in perpetuity, commensurate with the impact he had and the loss we feel. We will be hosting a Zoom sometime in the coming weeks for our community to come together to share memories and support one another and we invite current and former GVLL players, parents, coaches and board members to join us. We will share more information on this Zoom once it is planned. Until then, please remember Carlo and his family in your thoughts.

In closing, we think this quote from the movie The Sandlot summarizes how we all feel about Carlo: “Remember kid, there are heroes and there are legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.”

Carlo’s family has expressed their wish for donations to be made to GVLL in his memory. Please follow this link if you wish to do so. Donations made through this link will be set aside and applied to scholarships and other causes in Carlo’s memory.