SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO LITTLE LEAGUE: Challenger Program
Over 17 years ago Little League Baseball established the Challenger Division, which is a program for children with mental and/or physical disabilities. The typical disabilities include developmental delays, Down Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, etc. The Junion Division Challenger teams are for children ages 5-12.
A very important part of the Junior Division Challenger program is the buddy system. The Challenger players are matched up with buddies to assist the Challenger players by running around the bases with them or in fielding the ball. Local High School students volunteer to be buddies during the weekly practice sessions. Without the buddies, the Challenger program would not be nearly as successful as it is.
The Challenger season consists of 12 games, 6 home games and 6 away games, and the children dress in full baseball uniforms. The game is only two innings long and each player bats each inning. Some players hit off the tee, while the rest will hit a ball pitched by the coach. However, no score is kept. The goals of the league are to build their self-esteem, have fun and learn some baseball skills.
If you would like to make a difference in the life of a disabled child, then please consider volunteering your time to help out. Practice sessions are only one day per week for one hour. They are very informal and lots of fun. Our practices are held at the Sports Park in San Juan Capistrano, and start approximately the last week in February and go through the end of May. There is no prior experience necessary, in fact, you do not need to know anything about baseball or about children with disabilities in order to be a "buddy". The only requirement is that you are willing to help out. We can teach you the rest. If you can come every week or even a few of the weeks, we would love to have you be a buddy.
For more information, or to sign up, please contact Patty Stoner at 364-1961, or email: prstoner@sbcglobal.net.
