In the summer of 2006 Wayland High School graduates Dan Burgess, Dan Hogan, Joe Dorr, and Connor Hanlon organized their friends into four softball teams, created a schedule, and played throughout the summer. That initial group has sprouted into WayCo Softball league, with over 170 members and 10 teams. This year, however, the league faced some difficulty; their normal home field, Cochituate Ball Field had been double booked. Fortunately, for WayCo, the problem was resolved before the season starts this coming week.

In October the league organizers told the Wayland Department of Parks and Recreation that they needed the fields Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They were told that a decision would be made after the first of the year.

The organizers called in January and were told the decision would be made in February and they had to have the request in by February 15th. On February 11, WayCo received a call from Parks and Rec asking if they still wanted the fields. Hogan, Dorr and Hanlon said they would come right down to the department to register. Upon arrival, they were told that Wednesday had already been given away to the Eastern Mass Senior Softball League.

A board meeting was held to resolve the dilemma. At the meeting, the boys and Eastern Mass League’s representatives argued their cases. Dave Burgess, brother of the one of the league’s creators and a 2001 WHS graduate, argued the boys’ case while Eastern Mass’s case was argued by one of its members, a lawyer.

Eastern Mass said that if it had known the boys needed the field, it wouldn’t have looked to get it, but that now they couldn’t get any other fields.

The boys argued that, in fact, in two of the other towns the league played in there were open fields, but they were more expensive than the league wanted to pay.

The boys also stated that they were more qualified to use the field because they fit two of the criteria for using it. They qualified as a Wayland youth team because they had teams with players who were sixteen.

Also, they argued, they qualified as a Wayland league because it was a league created by Wayland kids, and 97% of the players are from Wayland while Eastern Mass has only 6% Wayland members.

Eastern Mass would be using the time slot for pick up games because it had the field all week, while WayCo needed the field for scheduled regular season and play-off games.

Some residents questioned why Wayland residents weren’t getting preference over other leagues, because Parks and Recreation’s policy says a league has to be comprised of 60% Wayland residents to qualify as a Wayland League.

In the end the problem was solved when Eastern Mass e-mailed Parks and Rec that they didn’t want the field and the boys should get it.