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Sports

Piermont Yankees Gear Up For Fall Baseball

Volunteer coach Wes Verajas hopes to bring the PAL team success.

Piermont attorney Wes Veraja has spent much of his time as a volunteer manager with Piermont Athletic League (PAL) travel teams.

And how far does his dedication stretch? To a level marked by winter workouts three times a week at the Piermont Community Center (PCC).

Now, Veraja is gearing up for baseball—he will be heading the league's Piermont Yankees.

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"We spend a lot of time together," he said, mentioning spring competition, games in late August through early September and, of course, the ever-popular fall baseball. "We started as one team and built it up to about 10 teams. I think we'll have seven teams this fall since we lost some kids to other sports."

Veraja, who also serves as the PAL attorney and is a member of the Board of Directors, often reaches out to Tappan Zee coach Mark Stanford to find interested kids.

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"He's great," Veraja said. "Our goal is to keeps the kids safe, to do things the right way. Very few of us [coaches] have professional experience, so we turn to others whenever we can."

To this end, the PAL is conducting another Coaches Clinic which is open to all county coaches and parents. The first session at the PCC is Thursday night, Aug. 26 from 7-10 p.m.; the second session is scheduled Saturday, Sept. 18, also at the PCC, from 9 a.m. to noon.

"It's really great for Rockland County," Veraja said. "We have some former pros on deck to participate, and we will concentrate on pitching safety, how to monitor kids, all aspects of pitching."

Veraja's team officially kicks off the fall season over the Labor Day weekend at the Rockland Slugfest in Chester, NY. Last year—with virtually the same group of kids—the Piermont Yankees lost in the semifinals in Manahawkin, NJ.

"Hopefully, we'll have five games in three days, but it will be tough, it's top-notch competition," Veraja said. "Not just competitive—highly competitive."

Veraja's 11U team is anchored at the vital shortstop position by Piermont's Mario Zamora.

"He's a real good player, probably my best, certainly as far as fielding goes," the volunteer manager noted. "But all around we have a seasoned team, you would be surprised at how well they play."

Some other holdovers from the 10U team include left fielder Nick Esteves, pitcher/first baseman Jackson Muncan, catcher John Wesley Veraja and the twins Ryan and Danny Quirk, a center fielder and third baseman, respectively.

The Yankees are hopeful of bouncing back from an outstanding but 6-5 losing effort to the powerhouse Northeast Bergen All-Stars in the championship game this spring.

"The PAL tries to turn out winning baseball teams, but I go beyond that," emphasized Veraja. "Education is very important to me. If a kid needs help I'm there to try to help. Fortunately, I have good kids."

"At our practices we talk about everything, not just baseball," he added. "We talk about the dangers of drugs, steroids. We say you can be as good as you want to be if you're dedicated. As an example, we put up people like Derek Jeter as role models. I can't think of him saying one or doing one thing wrong in 15 years."

Yet despite the manager's apparent easy-going style, when it comes time to play baseball, it's time to play baseball. When someone makes a mental error—when his mind might wander—Veraja's directive to "Go back to the van!" is a rallying cry.

"The kids have picked up on it," Veraja said, laughing. "It's said in jest, but the message is 'pay attention.'"

Piermont Police Chief Mike O'Shea, a driving force behind all the PAL programs, has already paid attention.

"Wes is a great guy," O'Shea said. "He's a tremendous asset to PAL."

O'Shea has strengthened the family-oriented PAL concept with a road trip last Thursday night, when three busloads of PAL people travelled to Richmond County Bank Ballpark to see the Staten Island Yankees host Wally Backman's high-flying Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets' New York-Penn League affiliate.

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