Up to the Challenge : When Disabled Youngsters Play Little League Ball, Everyone Wins

Opening Day at the Little League field brought out the usual stream of speakers--league officials, a former major league ballplayer and a city bureaucrat, proclamation in hand. Instead of delivering long speeches, however, those at the microphone were able to muster only a few words before choking up.

Parents sitting in the stands became as emotional as the dignitaries. Everyone realized that something extraordinary was about to occur.

Less moved were the players. They were dressed to play ball and couldn’t wait to get started. A girl with cerebral palsy quietly rolled her wheelchair to and fro. A boy with Down’s syndrome pounded his glove.

Soon the game was under way and dreams were realized right in front of everyone’s teary eyes.

The recent scene at Franklin Fields in Encino marked the beginning of competition for the Canoga Park Little League Challenger Division. For the first time, area youngsters with physical and mental disabilities can join the 2.5 million who play Little League ball.

“We all had goose bumps. There was such intense emotional energy that nobody could speak,” said Dawn Barsh, whose 12-year-old son Paul has a rare chromosome abnormality that has left him severely disabled.

The Barshes have two sons in addition to Paul who play Little League. Never did Dawn imagine that the family would be cheering while Paul smacked a ball off a tee.

“He has a full concept of the game. He was handed a bat and he knew what it was for. That flipped me out,” Dawn said. “There is so much going on inside of him that he can’t communicate. This helps open the horizons.”

The breadth of Little League has increased through the Challenger Division, which officials say is the only organized team sport for both physically and mentally disabled children. The program began last year in five leagues and this year expanded to 275 leagues--55 in California.

Canoga Park has two Challenger teams of players aged 6 to 22. Canyon Country Little League and Saticoy Little League in Ventura each field two teams. Sunrise Little League in Woodland Hills is hoping to field four teams later this month.

To hear those involved, every Little League should be open to disabled children.

“Once you get out there and partake of this, you are hooked for life,” said Jim Ferguson, an official from Little League headquarters in Williamsport, Pa. “Working with these children, you can see the difference you are making.”

Terry Valle, president of Canoga Park Little League, and Fred Brown, a Canyon Country Little League official, are among the volunteers who already have made a difference. During the planning stages of the program, however, they were unsure where they were headed.

“I was like a person with a flashlight in the night,” said Brown, who recruited players through special-education programs. “It took a lot of work because we are one of the pioneers. But it was worth it 10 times over. After our first game, I heard a couple of the kids saying, ‘We’re in Little League now too.’ ”

The early success of the Canoga Park program has prompted Valle to make expansion plans. “I would like to see Franklin Fields become the largest location for Challenger baseball in the nation,” she said.

Challenger games are remarkably similar to regular baseball, with certain concessions.

Players able to stand and hit are pitched to by a coach. The rest of the players hit off a tee. The ball is softer than a regular baseball.

Yet as with any baseball team, watching skills improve is part of the reward. Canoga Park players made great strides in only a week.

“They are able to run more than five feet and throw more than two feet, which is all they were able to do the first day,” said Mike Lerner, manager of the Canoga Park Challenger Padres. “We’re just having a blast.”

Most players have non-disabled counterparts, called buddies, who help out in various ways. In a game Sunday, a buddy stopped a ground ball and quickly placed it in the hands of a player in a wheelchair. He rolled the wheelchair to second base, beating a baserunner and her buddy to the bag for a force out.

Later, Joey Bell, a 10-year-old with mild cerebral palsy, dashed across home plate and was greeted by a high five from his buddy. Each child beamed broadly.

Buddies, usually youngsters who play Little League, say they are better able to understand the disabled.

“Before the game I overheard a boy who was about to be a buddy say, ‘This could be pathetic,’ ” Valle said. “After the game he ran to me and said, ‘That wasn’t pathetic, that was great!’ ”

Valle’s son, Brett, 13, had not met a disabled person before becoming a buddy. “I learned that handicapped kids are just like normal people. Their feelings are the same as mine,” he said.

Disabled children, of course, are usually isolated from the mainstream. Most attend special schools; nine Canoga Park Challenger players attend either Lokrantz School or Leichman High, public schools in Reseda for disabled students.

MarySue Luke, an adapted physical education teacher at Leichman, said that the social aspect of a team sport is invaluable.

“This allows them to participate like any normal child might do on a weekend,” she said. “And their parents are out there conversing about their kids. It’s therapeutic for everyone.”

As more leagues begin Challenger Divisions, opportunities for interaction increase. The Canoga Park teams will play host to the Canyon Country teams May 12. The following week, Canoga Park will visit Canyon Country and games will be followed by a picnic.

“There is a humanizing of the non-handicapped population when they see what handicapped kids can do,” said Rose Engel, principal of Lokrantz.

Four Lokrantz students play in the Canoga Park program. One of them, Leslie Dorfman, 12, nearly drowned at age 3, leaving her confined to a wheelchair. It is difficult for her to remain awake for longer than one hour, according to her mother, Ellen Dorfman.

“I never thought we would be out here watching Leslie do something like this,” Ellen said. “She stayed wide awake during the entire game, which amazed me.”

Every player had a moment of glory Sunday. Batters’ names were announced over a public-address system by volunteer Ed Mehler, who embellished several with nicknames: “Now batting, Billy (Wise Guy) Bly!”

Amy Gersh, a child with Down’s syndrome, was so shy on opening day that she hid in a dugout. A week later, however, she strode confidently to the plate and stared at Mehler until he announced her name. Then she pointed to her mother in the stands and said, “This is for you.” Her mother responded with encouragement, yelling, “We need some runs, Amy.”

Parents surprised themselves with their reactions. Carole Geuther watched anxiously as her son Jeffrey, a 16-year-old with Down’s syndrome, hit off a tee. Jeffrey swung and missed the ball, hitting the tee.

“Oh, Jeff,” Carole said under her breath. “I still don’t know if he knows to hit the ball and not the tee.” She laughed. Jeffrey swung again and smacked a ground ball. Carole leaped to her feet and yelled, “Run, Jeff, run, run!” She clapped as he reached base safely.

After the game, John Sullivan, manager of the Twins, quieted his players, many of whom were in the dugout chanting, “Pizza, pizza.” Sullivan handed out game balls to Michael Kubiak and Bobby Hand, who had hit home runs.

“This is the first time they’ve been able to be part of a team,” said Sullivan, whose daughter Stephanie, a 22-year-old with Down’s syndrome, stood nearby in uniform.

Stephanie was asked if she enjoyed playing baseball. “Yes. Do you?” she asked before shyly burying her face in her father’s stomach. “She’s my good will ambassador to the world,” John said.

The Challenger Division itself might be a fail-safe means of spreading good will. Jeffrey Geuther is doing his part.

“We happened to have a dinner party the evening after his first game,” Carole Geuther said. “Jeffrey stood at the door and greeted each guest: ‘Hello, I play baseball.’ ”