My Dad moved to the Vergennes area in the late 1980’s and has been involved in Vergennes area baseball ever since. From t-ball to little league to middle school to high school, my Dad has given his blood, sweat and tears to these programs. Long after my brother graduated in 2004, my Dad remained a coach for the varsity team. He was a part of the only two baseball state championships Vergennes Athletics has ever seen. He stayed with the program when numbers were so low they couldn’t field a varsity team. Two years ago, in a new division, he led the team to a state championship game which they sadly lost. This past year, after not having a prior season due to COVID, they had a good playoff run. Not the outcome everyone wished for but certainly a far cry from not being able to field a team.

In 2017, my Dad had a heart attack on a Tuesday at a Vergennes baseball game. The game and the team meant so much to him, he hadn’t even considered not going despite feeling ill. His two team captains visited him that night in the hospital. By Saturday of that same week, he was back on the field (much to our dismay) coaching a game.

Being a coach isn’t all about winning the game. It’s not about how much playing time your kid gets or doesn’t get. It’s not about their stats. It’s about creating a team and teaching student athletes qualities that translate off the field and into the real world. It’s about creating good teammates, working hard and contributing to something larger than yourself. It’s about building relationships that matter.

I am far from an unbiased perspective. I know that. But I can confidently write this, knowing that there are many from our community and many ex-players of my Dad’s that would come forward and attest to my Dad being the type of coach who fosters what I’ve described above. That he is a man who, through the good times and the bad times, has given his time, his own money and his heart to his favorite pastime in the community he loves.

Dwight Burkett doesn’t deserve an Athletic Director to tell him it’s time for a new direction. Especially not from an AD who has historically taken little interest in the baseball program. I’ve also been around the baseball program a long time. I’m married to someone who was on the first State Championship team. I played softball all through high school. I can’t remember a time where baseball or softball was cared about like say, soccer was.

I don’t remember the AD asking about bullpens or pitching lineups and offering opinions. I can’t remember him coming to games other than to check in.
What’s the sudden interest in the baseball program at Vergennes? And why exactly does it need a new head of baseball? I’d like answers.

Furthermore, if we want to start taking a look at Vergennes Athletics, maybe we should start with the Athletic Director. I know there are many who have their own stories. Should we take into account that his longtime friend has a child on the baseball team? At the very least I would love to hear some specific, concrete reasons he no longer sees my Dad fit to be the Varsity baseball coach. Maybe if anyone else has the same questions, they could ask them too.

The Vergennes Union High School Athletic Director needs to provide the community with concrete reasons as to why he no longer sees Dwight Burkett as fit to coach the Varsity Baseball Team. He needs to address the fact that his best friend has a child on the team. He needs to address that fact that it is rumored he has asked his long time friend, the Varsity Girls Basketball Coach to apply for the job. We are an at will state but doesn't the community deserve answers? Is this how Vergennes Athletics treats dedicated, loyal, supporters of their sports? What does one have to do in order to keep their job under the AD of Vergennes Athletics?