October 9, 2023 | By Lisa Scagliotti

*Liz Harris speaks to the players as Mary Harris Youth Soccer Day at Mad River Park comes to a close last weekend. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti*

More than 100 local girls soccer players turned out under bright sunshine at Mad River Park in Waitsfield last Sunday for what’s become an annual tradition to train with Harwood Union High School players and honor the memory of a former HU varsity team member.

*Seventh- and eighth-graders scrimmage. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti*

Dozens of pre-K through eighth-graders fanned out across the field, picking up this year’s commemorative purple t-shirts emblazoned with the “Love Like Mary” mantra that Mary Harris Youth Soccer Day is known for. Harwood varsity and junior varsity girls soccer team members and their coaches were on hand, largely to watch as the high schoolers organized the games and drills spread out across the fields. Now in its seventh year, many of the current high school team members were participants as middle-schoolers and look forward to it as much as the players half their size.

The shirts and gifts for participants were on tables set up at the park’s pavilion where memorial benches and overhead beams bear the names of five local teens who lost their lives in a tragic wrong-way car crash on Interstate 89 in October 2016: Eli Brookens, Janie Cozzi, Liam Hale, Mary Harris and Cyrus Zschau. The 11th graders were friends, classmates and athletes whose passions drew them to the local ski hills and the Mad River Park soccer fields.

*Harwood senior Carmen Lafayette and junior Dagne Pippenger do some heavy lifting. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti*

Along with several family members, Mary’s mom Liz Harris attends each year and takes time to talk to attendees. This year she visited each small group divided by age, sitting down on the grass for a few minutes to share memories of her daughter. “Do you know what an obituary is?” she asked as several third- and fourth-graders raised their hands. After reading Mary’s obit, she talked about her daughter. Mary’s remembered for her good-nature and generosity; an essay she wrote about kindness provides inspiration for the day.

Liz Harris told the youngsters they are connected to Mary and her friends just by being part of the same community. “You wear the shirts. You come to this day. You treat people with kindness,” she said. “You keep carrying this story forward.”

For two hours, the groups ran through drills and friendly scrimmages. Coaches handed out candy to the high school players who challenged the youngsters to catch them to get their share. Former Harwood coach Mike Vasseur who helped organize the event, came with boxes of small toys including dozens of fidget-spinners. The prizes were donated by Camp Ta-Kum-Ta after its summer season ended.

Following a closing gathering and remarks, the youngsters prepared to head home with waiting parents. Next to the toy favors were special mementos of the day: Dozens of copies of Mary’s kindness essay printed by Liz on blue paper sat rolled up and tied with bows. They came with a little sticker bearing one of its signature quotations: “So, I ask you to be kind. Be compassionate. Be respectful. Be selfless. Because without kindness, what’s the point?”

Click the photos below to enlarge and see captions.