"We're all very excited about the new fields," said Martin Crowe, President of the Kingston Youth Baseball and Softball League. "There's a lot of work to be done coordinating all the activities."

It was Crowe who went before the selectmen on Jan. 13 with the proposal for the group, which would be called the Kingston Youth Sports Organization. The idea was first talked about in the summer of 2003, when the various sports organizations were discussing how best to integrate the operations on the new fields with activities on existing fields. Members of the fields committee urged the sports groups to begin organizing a unified effort to plan for the long-term success of the fields.

On Sept. 9, Mary Baxter, Martin Crowe, Franco DeSantis, Steve Shedd and Roger Silva met and formed a Sports Organizing Committee. The purpose of this committee was to begin the planning process for the existing Kingston Youth sports organizations to take on their responsibilities for the new fields on Pottle Street.

The purpose of the Kingston Youth Sports Organization would be twofold, organizers decided. First, the group would coordinate all the activities that would take place on the field, not only sports, but any outside group that wanted to make use of the fields. Crowe was resolute on this matter, saying that he would make sure that everyone would be able to use the fields.

Second, the group would be responsible for the maintenance of the fields. This would include more than just making sure the fields are always watered. The organization would be responsible for maintaining concession stands, scoreboards, spectator stands and even the web site for Kingston Youth Sports. They would also be responsible for supporting any new sports that emerged.

Money for the maintenance would come from the concession stands and donations. Advertising was another possibility that was discussed by the selectmen. The equipment for the maintenance would come from the building committee, who have contact with outside services eager to help. The group wanted to manage the field in a way that children who play multiple sports would not have to worry about missing one practice to attend another.

"We want to make sure that everyone has equal access to the fields," said selectmen chairman Olavo DeMacedo. "We need to have the ability to maintain the fields and make sure everyone can use them.."

According to Crowe, the organization would be a five-member board made up of representatives from the various Kingston Youth sports groups. The terms of the board members would be spread out to provide continuity from year to year. The first year would see two representatives from soccer, two from baseball and one from football, with later elections to be done by the board's members. "We wouldn't want to do anything that's against the interests of the town," said Crowe.

Selectmen discussed the possibility of a three-year term, with reviews every following year. The big question was whether this group or an outside one should control the fields. DeMacedo believed this to be the crux of the argument, saying that the people who have the real passion for these sports should be the ones most closely involved.