Sports are starting to pick up again along the shoreline as summer gets going. The Dream League, a free statewide high school girls’ lacrosse league, launched operations for the 2020 season on June 22. The Dream League was founded by the James Vick Foundation, a nonprofit organization that offers free basketball, lacrosse, and soccer programming for young athletes.

Branford, Guilford, Madison, North Haven, Wallingford, West Haven, Amity, Shelton, Stratford, and Monroe are the teams that are participating in the Dream League. Teams officially started practice on June 22. The regular season begins on Monday, July 6 and will conclude on Wednesday, Aug. 8. Each team in the league is going to play a mix of conference and non-conference games. Every team will also host a Senior Night game.

The Amity Vikings, Shelton Stags, West Haven Bulldogs, Stratford Devil Dogs, and Monroe Panthers will play in the Dream League South. The teams competing in Dream League North are the Guilford Seahawks, Branford Sting, North Haven Warriors, Madison Mavericks, and the Wallingford West Side.

Following the regular season, the Conference Tournaments will begin on Friday, Aug. 10. The Dream League South Tournament will be held at Penders Field in Stratford, and the Dream League North Tournament is taking place at Guilford High School. The two conference champions will meet in the final.

The Dream League program is free for all student-athletes. Enrollment includes insurance, practice shirts, and game uniforms that are covered by the league. The James Vick Foundation provides general administrative support to all of the teams and the athletes, while the coaches and parent volunteers provide on-site support at practices and games.

The mission of the Dream League is to give athletes back what was taken from them following the cancellation of their season. On May 5, the 2020 high school spring season, which includes girls’ lacrosse, was canceled as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The winter season had also been canceled during middle of the State Tournaments on March 10. The pandemic has hit peak levels nationwide and in several other states during recent weeks, although the number of new cases and deaths in Connecticut has continually gone down throughout that same time span.

All of the players, coaches, and volunteers who participate in the Dream League will be tested for COVID-19 and follow prevention protocols before games and practices. The league will have prevention protocol volunteers, in addition to a committee of doctors and registered nurses who will monitor test results and oversee the results of prevention protocol.