Deerfield Youth Baseball and Softball Association Presents College Scholarships to Five Local Graduates

At the June Deerfield Youth Baseball and Softball Association (DYBA/DYSBA) Board Meeting, the organization presented college scholarships to five local graduating high school seniors. The five DYBA/DYSBA 2015 College Scholarship Winners earned their honors through Board voting.

The Deerfield High School Softball players earning the $1,000 College Scholarship included:

· Allegra Hoffman – Played five years of DYSBA softball, coached DYSBA Date Nights in 2013, suited up for DHS varsity all four years of high school, won the 2014 Central Suburban League Leadership Award and earned All-American Scholar Athlete honors (National Fast Pitch Coaches)

· Dana Mercola – Athletic highlights include playing more than a decade on DYSBA house and travel teams, playing four years of varsity softball at DHS and captaining the team as a senior, among many academic accolades, she was a Varsity Scholar Athlete and AP Scholar

Longtime DYBA baseball players won the 2015 $1,000 College Scholarship, including:

· Jacob Byck – On the field, he played Pinto through Pony DYBA baseball, travel from age 9 on, umpired and coached travel and house league teams in 2014 and 2015; off the field he was a devoted member of Earthworks and DECA, and also served as an after school tutor for special needs middle school students.

· Joe Liberman – For more than a decade Liberman played DYBA house and travel baseball, he played varsity at DHS and was captain for a season; also, while at DHS, Liberman earned class Valedictorian honors, was one of 33 students in the world to earn a perfect score in the Micro-Economics AP exam and won the Illinois Council of Teachers Mathematics Student Achievement Award

· Brandon Fishman – Active in Deerfield baseball from t-ball through his senior year at DHS, coached a DYBA Pony team in 2014, umped for three years; while at DHS, Fishman was an Honors Society member, was awarded the DHS First Class honor and was active in Warriors Buddies and the Student Executive Board, among other organizations

“These are stellar examples of the type of high quality student athletes coming out of Deerfield and our DYBA programs,” said Michael Danielewicz, commissioner of DYBA/DYSBA. “They set the tone for those that follow in their footsteps right here in Deerfield and as they move into the next stage of their lives.”

DYBA board members and parents of the College Scholarship Winners attended the presentation.

# # #

Photo: (from left): Lew Bricker, Immediate Past DYBA commissioner, Joe Liberman, Brandon Fishman, Jacob Byck, Allegra Hoffman and Michael Danielewicz, DYBA Commissioner (not pictured: Dana Mercola)