Soccer players in West Haven had to wait to play on the field at Alma E. Pagels Elementary School because of rain and now they might have to wait again because of damage done to the field.
West Haven Youth Soccer League volunteers discovered the damage to the fence and tire marks on the field and believe the damage was done between late Saturday night and early Sunday morning.
“I’ve coached for about 29 years in the league, watched a lot of kids play and this was just greatly disappointing today.” Ruth Costa, of the Girls Commission West Haven Youth Soccer League, said. “There’s supposed to be almost 100 kids practicing on this field this afternoon after 4 o’clock so this has hurt a lot of kids and that’s the most devastating part.”
Damage Done to Soccer Fields in West Haven
The parks department maintains the field and crews went to check on the damage Monday morning and dropped off some loam.
Joseph Montagna, the parks maintenance supervisor, said they’ve dealt with damage like this before at other parks in the city.
“Senseless. Stupidity. There’s no need for this. I don’t know what enjoyment that they get out of it. All it does is ruin the field for the kids and make more work for us,” he said.
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Costa said she thinks there might be enough space for the players to practice on the field today, but they can’t play a game until it gets fixed or they’d risk the players spraining their ankles.
Police are reviewing nearby surveillance video and they are trying to identify the driver who is responsible.
