LEYDEN — The shrill sound of a whistle permeates the crisp autumn air and 11 boys and girls take off running full speed across Avery Field.
Every Wednesday and Saturday, children ages 4 to 7 participate in a new soccer program organized by the Leyden Recreation Committee, bringing youth sports back to a town where they’ve long been absent.
“The sports, they all just kind of dwindled up,” said Brian Pelletier, soccer coach and Recreation Committee treasurer. “We’re kind of bringing back the small town sports.”
Pelletier said the program is his brainchild. Having coached his 13-year-old daughter Hayley in soccer, Pelletier was interested in coaching a program that his six-year-old daughter, Madisyn, could participate in.
The rest of the Recreation Committee supported his idea.
“The more people I asked, they would say ‘We used to do Little League here,’” Pelletier said. “So it was like, what happened?”
The program kicked off Sept. 24 and will run through the end of October, accounting for 10 games in all. The games are held Wednesdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Avery Field, alongside the town pavilion on Brattleboro Road.
The Recreation Committee supplied the soccer balls and Pelletier crafted the goals using PVC piping and netting. Parents are asked to pay $35 for each child to participate, which covers all costs including ordering a T-shirt.
Pelletier said having a soccer program also brings more activity back to Avery Field.
“Kids played on the soccer field before, that’s all,” he said. “We’re definitely trying to get more activities going on down there.”
Parents of the players agree that having the program provides a great social experience both for their children and for themselves.
“(Avery) loves to come down here and play and see all of his friends from school,” said Recreation Committee Secretary Mary Lou Barton, who brings her 5-year-old grandson to participate.
“A lot of us pick our kids up from school and we leave, so we don’t ever get to see other parents,” said Leyden resident Hannah Stebbins, who brings her two sons, Alden, 5, and Hunter, 7.
Hannah Stebbins and her sister Katie Stebbins, who also brings her 4-year-old daughter Rileyann to play, remembered how sports programs, like a community tee ball team, faded out in Leyden. Katie Stebbins commented on how convenient the new program is, as she used to bring her daughter to Greenfield to play.
“It’s good for the kids to have an after-school activity,” Katie Stebbins added.
Pelletier hopes to work out an arrangement with the Bernardston Recreation Committee to offer a combined program next year. However, he said children interested in playing this year can still participate by showing up to a game or by contacting him by phone at 413-768-9160.