MIRACLE SEASON ALMOST FINISHED
Special-needs league has last game today
May 21, 2005
Amy Sowder@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
Cody Contreras, 10, is cheered on as he makes a mad dash for home during a Miracle League game. Photo by Karena Cawthon@Pensacola |
Or imagine spending your childhood sitting on the sidelines while your buddies feel the crack of the bat and the adrenaline rush of reaching home plate.
Through the three-year-old Miracle League of Pensacola, children with special physical and mental needs have had the chance to step up to a plate specifically designed for them.The almost 50 players, each of whom has a "buddy'' to help, are set to bash their last baseballs of the inaugural season tonight at Mitchell Homes Miracle League Park, part of the John R. Jones Athletic Complex off Nine Mile Road.
Christi Brown's daughter Whitney, 6, can play T-ball on the field made of recycled tire rubber because its smoothness and cushioning enable her to use a wheelchair.
"I like this because she has something only for her," the Cantonment mother said.
Recently, the Lipscomb Elementary kindergartner, who has a rare glucose deficiency, hasn't needed to use her wheelchair, and her mom held her hand to help her get to home plate.
"Tears were coming down my husband's face," the equally elated mother said. " 'It's just so great seeing my baby running the bases,' he said to me."
The local Miracle League, one of 97 throughout the nation, has four teams. But with participation doubling since the start of the season, two teams might have to be added when the six-week fall season starts in mid-September, founder Larry Thompson said.
|
Want to go? What: The last spring season Miracle League double-header baseball game. When: 6 p.m. today. Where: Mitchell Homes Miracle League Park, 555 E. Nine Mile Road. Enter the John R. Jones Athletic Complex from the east side, using Airway Drive. Who: The players are local youths with special needs, and the volunteers and spectators are the general public. To donate: Call 433-7404 or visit www.miracleleaguepensacola.org to give building supplies, time or money. |
The ball field is nearly complete, thanks to volunteers and donations, Thompson said. But, with the rising cost of supplies after Hurricane Ivan, the league needs about $150,000 to complete the concession stand and restrooms.
"We want the kids to be as independent as possible," he said about the wheelchair-designed facilities.
Ron Doss, public relations director for The Miracle League, said it takes only an empathetic heart to want to contribute to a child's miracle field.
For the children who play on the field, "it's sort of like living in another world," Doss said.
That's great, he said, "because they spend a lifetime trying to adapt to an environment not specifically built for them."
©The Pensacola News Journal
May 21, 2005
# # #