Scott Yelle said it is always bittersweet returning to Elon’s campus, because he wouldn’t be visiting club baseball’s game Nov. 2 if his son was still alive. His son, Jackson Yelle, was a former junior at Elon who was killed in a hit-and-run in April 2023 on a beach trip with the rest of the club baseball team.
Scott and his wife Andrea Yelle have been back to campus multiple times to see members of the club baseball team and other friends of Jackson’s. This time, they came back to see the dedication of the field’s dugouts to their son before the team played against William and Mary.
His family created the Jackson Yelle Family Foundation in Jackson’s memory with the goal of raising money for causes such as improving the fields at Elon and funding scholarships at Jackson's high school, as well as supporting a Major League Baseball program that works with inner city children to give them a chance to play baseball. The baseball team started this fund by raising $40,000 when he died.
Andrea and Scott Yelle kneel next to the dedication for their son Jackson Yelle in the Elon Club Baseball dugout Nov. 2.
Scott said after raising money for the baseball team, they noticed the field needed improvements to its dugouts. They wanted to help the team, while also creating a physical marker of the type of person and player Jackson was.
“Remind them of all the things Jackson embodied as a teammate when they're out on the field, which is character, kindness, good sportsmanship — things that we feel like investing in the foundation by investing into athletic programming builds,” Andrea said.
For the past year and a half, the team has honored their former teammate by writing his initials on their hats, getting tattoos in his memory and keeping Jackson’s values alive, Andrea said. Scott, who was wearing Jackson’s now fading baseball hat, has honored Jackson’s memory by going to baseball games at every MLB stadium across the country. This was something he and Jackson started doing together and Scott finished on his own this summer.
One symbol many of the players chose to have tattooed is a dragonfly — which is now the symbol of the foundation. Andrea wore dragonfly earrings to the dedication. It’s a Native American belief that dragonflies are a symbol of passing onto the next life, Scott said. The dragonfly also means a lot to his family and to the team because right after he died, many people close to Jackson reported seeing dragonflies, Scott said.
“When we see dragonflies, a lot of people who text us and say, ‘Hey just, saw a dragonfly, thinking of Jackson.’’’ Scott said. “It’s a simple, easy way to kind of carry on his good thoughts.”
Elon Club Baseball President Joey Generalis introduces Scott Yelle, Jackson's dad, to the team Nov. 2 to dedicate the dugouts in Jackson's memory.
Senior Joey Generalis, president of club baseball, said one of the most rewarding experiences of his life has been honoring Jackson’s memory. He and the rest of the team miss their friend and teammate but work to continue to honor his legacy, Generalis said.
“He always had a smile on his face, and he was genuinely such a very positive guy,” Generalis said. “That kind of energy around here is very infectious, and it's easy to bounce off of that, and I'm just happy to get to know him and share the memories that I have.”
Junior Zane Davis said experiencing the death of a teammate created a family among the club. He said Jackson was always a happy, welcoming figure — and even though he only got to know him for a semester and a half — he always liked being around Jackson.
“Every game we play, we have Jackson in mind,” Davis said. “Having his parents here to see us, being able to perform for them, being able to have his name now officially in the dugout, means a lot.”
To dedicate the dugout to Jackson, Generalis introduced Andrea and Scott to the team to share a few words on Jackson’s legacy. Generalis told the rest of the team, alumni who had returned and family members of some of the players that being able to celebrate and honor Jackson means a lot to him and the team.
“Jackson was someone that was always there for everybody, put a smile on everybody's face,” Generalis said to the team. “He's the perfect example of someone that encapsulated our club baseball to the finest. He loved the game. He lived his life to the fullest on and off the field.”
Scott said to the team, through tears, that he hopes through whatever adversity members of the team will face, they make the choice to respond to it positively — and to remember Jackson.
“Remembering, as Jackson said, that ‘This is the life,’” Scott said to the team.
The phrase “This is the life,” has become the mantra for the foundation, as it was something Jackson said to his friend on the day he died. Andrea said reminding people of the positive things in life was always something Jackson was good at, and it means a lot to see the rest of the team carrying on his legacy.
In both dugouts there is a plaque for Jackson Yelle, former club baseball player, with a quote he said the last day he was alive, "This is the life."
“When it first happened, this was the group at our lowest moment that kind of wrapped their arms around us and kind of kept us going forward,” Andrea said. “Not only the club, all the sororities that they were friends with, their families and just the general Elon community was immense. We were just at our lowest point ever, so it's meaningful to be around them, because it kind of gives us that lift that we need to keep going without Jackson.”