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FORT MYERS — It's not unusual for Howard Gold to feel torn at this time of the year.

If he could, the South Fort Myers Little League president would wave a wand and instantly appear in two places at once.

Such a device would come in handy this weekend when two of South's teams will be vying for state championships on opposite coasts.

Winners of District 9 and Section 6 titles, South's Senior League All-Stars and 10-11 year-old All-Stars begin state tournament action Friday. The Seniors will be at Bishop Verot High in Fort Myers at 5 p.m. while the pre-teens play at the same time in Coral Springs. Both tournaments are slated to conclude Monday.

If a wand doesn't do the trick for Gold, perhaps just touching the fiber of South's dark blue uniforms will suffice.

"I was telling someone the other day," said Gold, who plans to watch the Seniors on Friday and then head to Coral Springs the next day, "that I think there's magic in those jerseys."

Indeed, South's success in recent years is unparalleled in Lee County. All six of South's all-star teams reached district finals this summer, and they won four. This weekend marks the third time since 2005 that the league has placed two teams in state tournaments in the same year. The league's streak of having at least one team in a state tournament stretches back to 2003 when the budding career of the their most notable graduate -- Toronto Blue Jays prospect John Tolisano -- was continuing to take shape on the fields at Rutenberg Park.

Twice South has won state titles, once in 2004 in what was then a tournament for 11-year-olds only, and again last year in Juniors. Three players on this year's Seniors squad -- Devin Huff, Luke Smith and Sam Toops -- played for both of those championship teams. The trio's quest for a state championship hat trick will take place at Verot and Sam Fleishman Regional Sports Complex, just a few miles from South's home turf.

"We’re very happy it’s in our backyard. It’s a tremendous advantage," said Seniors manager Felix Menendez.

One trait shared by both the Seniors and 10-11s is a wealth of arms. Gold said the league's policy that introduces youngsters to the mound at age eight pays off in later years.

"The secret in the tournaments is to have multiple pitchers who can throw strikes," said Gold.

Which is exactly what the Seniors utilized last Saturday. Toops, Carlos Sosa, Mike Menendez, Brian Mackin and Wesley Fiorillo pitched the Seniors to the sectional title, which included an exhaustive, 11-inning win that lasted nearly four hours.

Likewise, 10-11 manager Brian Smith, Luke's father, can choose from an arsenal of right-handers that includes another son, Keith, as well as Tim Winter, Christian Hammond, Michael Iantosca, Thomas Rizzo and others. It's a stingy staff that has yielded an average of less than two runs per game during the team's spotless 10-0 run in all-stars. The team has outscored opponents by a staggering 103-19 margin.

Yet Smith said the key to his team's success goes beyond pitching and hitting.

"I compliment my defense more than my pitchers. The pitchers are throwing groundball outs, but the defense is making the plays. It's not like we have overpowering pitching. We're just playing smart baseball," said Smith, whose club includes 11 members from last year's 9-10 team that made it to the state tournament.

With two sons in the state tournaments, Smith admits it will be OK with him if he doesn't see the older one play. How long his 10-11s last will determine that.

"I hope we don't see the Seniors because that means we wouldn't have made it to Monday," he said.