Building A Field Of Dreams Local Youth League Takes On A Huge Project

By Cookie Steponaitis

The Vergennes Area Youth League (VAYL) has been serving and helping youths ages five through twelve mostly from the Vergennes area experience the joys of baseball and softball for the past thirty- two years.  There have been more than 320 kids who have played and experienced the fun of America’s favorite past time in the 2013 season.  The VAYL is an instructional league that relies on local volunteer coaches to teach the players not only the fundamentals of the game but how to set goals, work as a team and see individual growth through athletics. The VAYL with the generous support of local
businesses was able to have seventeen sponsored teams that are involved in either baseball or softball including the T-Ball, Minor and Major levels.  Four All-Star teams are in competition in the state level tournaments.
    The organization, with all this activity and growth still on the horizon is undertaking the ambitious project of building a new multi-use baseball and softball field to be located adjacent to the existing Little League field at the Vergennes Legion on Armory Lane. The VAYL believes that while this is a major endeavor it is the appropriate time to build and is turning to the area to help make their Field of Dreams Project a success.  The current estimates of the project are between thirty-thirty-five thousand dollars. “The girls’ softball field has gotten worse over the last few years and even though work has been
done to help maintain it a new field is what the girls deserve,” shared group member Lisa Rowell. “The existing field at Ferrisburgh is getting to where it will be dangerous to play on and the safety of players is most important.”The projected goal of starting a new field by 2014 provides a timeline that has the group actively fundraising in numerous ways. People and organizations interested in making a donation or perhapshaving a banner at the fields or funding a dug out or more should contact Lisa Rowell at 759-2078 or
[email protected]. Donations would be to VAYL c/o David Sausville, 2431 Green St. Waltham, VT