Letter: Community Made Cooperstown Trip Possible

To the Editor:

This past week, 13 boys who make up the U12 Wyckoff Travel Baseball Team travelled to Cooperstown, NY, to participate in the Cooperstown Dreams Park Tournament. 

It was the experience of a lifetime for the 13 "Little Major Leaguers" who played seven games over four days against teams from Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, California and Nevada. They were housed in team barracks at the Cooperstown Dreams Park with their coaches. The week began on Saturday with opening ceremonies and skills competitions. They spent their days playing ball, trading pins and getting to know other 12-year-old boys from the 104 teams that participated in the tournament from all over the United States. They also visited downtown Cooperstown, including the Baseball Hall of Fame. The week ended on Thursday evening with closing ceremonies and the championship game.

 All of this would not have been possible without the support of our local community. We would like to thank and acknowledge the Market Basket, Giovanni's Restaurant, Mayo Sportswear, Unimac Graphics, the Wyckoff Baseball Boosters, especially Gregg Pecoraro, and the Wyckoff Recreation Department, especially recreation Director Andy Wingfield for their generosity and support. 

We would also like to thank the Wyckoff community at-large for supporting our events, which included the Inaugural Fathers Day 9U Classic Baseball Tournament, our car wash, candy and drink sales at Wyckoff Recreation baseball/softball games, a Yankees ticket raffle and our Giovanni's Restaurant fundraiser.     

The boys were able to raise over 90 percent of the cost of their trip through these efforts and learned the value of hard work and the rewards it can bring. Thank you for helping our sons "live the dream."

With appreciation,

The U12 Wyckoff Baseball Team

The Aiello, DePhillips, Evangelista,  Frank, Moran, Nelson, O'Hagan, Runge, Quinn, Tasik, Tubbs,  Unger and Valente families