We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anthony Dauria a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anthony, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

At one point in our league’s history, we sent the winners of the different Regions to Las Vegas to compete in a tournament. It was probably one of the more wilder things we have done as a league, and we have not been able to replicate that in over a decade.

I think the players really appreciated the idea that the league wanted to put the players on a flight to Vegas to make it seem like they were professional athletes. There was also another tournament, the Ultimate Wiffler, that occurred the same weekend which encouraged many other players in the league to travel and be a part of the experience.

Anthony, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

GSWL has been around since the early 2000’s and originally was based outside of Boston, Massachusetts. The league was founded by a man name Louis Levesque and his goal was to make wiffleball a mainstream and televised sport. As the league grew in popularity, regions popped up in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Las Vegas and California, with other affiliates in Vermont and Georgia. Myself and Rob Longiaru brought the league to New York, specifically Long Island. For the last 13+ years we have successfully grown the region by leaps and bounds, capping tournaments at 32 teams. We have also spurred a Fall League known as GAUL, which is plays on Sunday mornings from September to November. We have run both Fast Pitch and Medium Pitch formats, leagues, and tournaments.

Today, GSWL operates mostly out of New England, and primarily in New York. Every year GSWL hosts the OPEN, which is a national tournament where teams fly in from all over the country to play in a 2 day tournament. We have players as young as 12 and as old as the mid-60’s playing in our events. We are running our 2nd annual golf outing, and want to continue offering more things to our player body besides wiffleball. We have almost grown into a “mens club”, and provide a much needed social, but also competitive outlet for many guys living on Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the surrounding areas.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think what keeps our players coming back is being transparent about league operations, costs, and changes. Many wiffleball leagues have come and gone, and the common reason for their failures is an inability to be truthful to their clientele. Without the players, the league is nothing.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best way to bring in new players is to encourage anyone to come down and play. We have a great group of guys that are always willing to meet new people, play with them, show them the ropes and explain rules, and most importantly, be a friend. Most adults who want to play are looking for something to do with the rare free time they may have. Be open and available to new players is the best way to keep them coming back for more. They also want to then bring their friends and families down too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mystatsonline.com/ballsports/visitor/league/home/home.aspx?IDLeague=4004
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldenstickwiffs/
• Facebook: Facebook.com/goldenstick
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/goldenstickwiff?lang=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCouAyTuJlcjmDK4p58umO9w?view_as=subscriber

Image Credits
Dan O’Connell (Green jersey batting) Dan and Jake Knab (Dad and son) All players from the 2023 OPEN in Staten Island 2023 OPEN Champs Wiff Inc. 2023 GAUL Champs Johnny Ceccio and Jay Rodgers (pic of guy holding kid above head) Please contact before posting to clarify credits to correct images