This Week in Clarkstown: Job Opportunities

I am excited that after a very long winter, baseball season is finally upon us. Baseball has always been a huge part of my life. It all started when my mother went into labor with me on the bleachers while watching my father play. Though they made it to the hospital with plenty of time to spare, it would be incredibly cool if I could say I was born on the baseball field. But it was close enough. After playing in high school, I went on to play college baseball in Florida. While there, I majored in Sports Management and did an internship with the then Florida Marlins. They won the World Series that year, and it was incredible to be there, especially since I had the opportunity to meet NY Yankees Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio, who was also attending the series. To be honest, I didn’t just meet him; I almost injured him. I was rushing around a corner in the press box area carrying a stack of media guides when I bumped into someone, almost knocking them over. When I looked up, I could not believe it was Joe DiMaggio. I apologized and asked if he was okay, which he thankfully was. I also told him I was from NY and that if I had injured him, I would have never been able to go home, as he was a Yankees icon and my family were all big Yankees fans. Watching a Major League team win a World Series first-hand is something I will never forget.

After graduating college, I coached college baseball, where my team made it to the Junior College World Series two years in a row. I was then hired by the then Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization to work in the minor leagues, where we won a championship. Following the championship season, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia, for three years, taking a job as a baseball consultant for a DVD company whose first project was the Ken Burns History of Baseball Documentary. Baseball then drew me back to NY, where I took a job as the General Manager and Director of Instruction for a baseball training center and ended up meeting my wife. This brings us to today, four kids and one grandson later, all of whom wouldn’t be here if not for baseball. Though I moved on from working full-time in baseball to work in Parks & Recreation for the last 20 years, the game still remains a big part of my life as I coach my kids.

Working in Parks & Recreation, there are definitely a lot of opportunities to still be around the game I love. In the Town of Clarkstown, the youth baseball scene is also gearing up. The local Little Leagues will be holding their Opening Day Ceremonies in April:

On Saturday, April 11th: West Nyack Little League Opening Day will be held at Germonds Park at 9:00 am; New City Little League Opening Day will be held at Zukor Park at 10:30 am; and the Nanuet Little League parade and opening ceremony will be at Lake Nanuet Park at 11:00 am.

On Saturday, April 26th, the Nyack, Valley Cottage, and Congers Little League Parade and Opening Day Ceremony will take place at Liberty Elementary School in Valley Cottage at 10:00 am.

It is so much fun watching the excitement of the kids kicking off their new season so if you are able to attend any of the opening ceremonies I highly recommend it. 

If professional baseball is more your scene the Town of Clarkstown Parks & Recreation will be holding two bus trips in May.

On Tuesday, May 12th, the town is taking a trip to Citi Field to see the hometown Mets take on the visiting Detroit Tigers.

On Tuesday, May 19th, the town will be taking a bus trip to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees take on the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.

Both trips leave the Parks & Recreation Department at 4:30 pm. The price for the trips is $110 per person. For more information or to register, call the Clarkstown Parks & Recreation Department at 845-639-6200

Got an idea for the column or an event in Clarkstown you want me to mention? Shoot me an email at mveronesi@optimum.net. Have a great week!