VALLEY MILLS, Texas (KXXV) — Severe weather flooded the Valley Mills Youth Baseball Association this week. The weather destroyed the complex and now members of the association are working to rebuild back their field.
- William Pemberton, an 8-year-old player, and his father, Jason, spoke with 25 News on how this impacts their lives.
- Teams are using other fields to play while cleanup efforts are underway.
- Players are teaming up not just for the game, but to help put their field back together.
BROADCAST SCRIPT:
In baseball terms, it's been a complete rainout at the Valley Mills Youth Baseball Association.
How high was the water?
"The water was this high," Jason Pemberton said.
Leaving one player struggling with his emotions.
"I played here for a long time and I want everybody to know they can have different feelings," youth player William Pemberton said.
8-year-old William has played on the field for half of his life.
"I felt angry, sad, kind of mad. I just got very upset," William said.
But he isn't the only one of our local boys of summer feeling the sting after floodwaters ravaged our community ball fields.
Matt Herring works in field maintenance for the Valley Mills Youth Baseball Association.
"The majority of them were devastated. I was at the top of the hill up here looking down on the fields. And there were probably 15 to 20 kids just looking down at the complex and it was completely underwater," Herring said.
For now, the team is currently using other nearby fields to play. As for the future, that depends on what could be thousands of dollars in repairs.
"We basically have to start over. We have two spots down there where the fences are down and we got to get a lot of grass mowed. And right now our mowers are volunteering to bring their mowers down," Herring said.
Following his dad's example and in hopes of getting back on the diamond sooner rather than later, William is a part of the community crew here to clean up.
"I love the sport, and I don't want to let go of my dreams to be the best baseball player ever," William said.
