“Have fun, make friends and play ball.”
That’s the motto for the Dream League softball team. The Dream League, a program organized by the city of Durango Parks and Recreation Department, offers youths and adults with various disabilities an opportunity to play on a softball team.
Each game starts with the national anthem. Audience members – made up of friends and families – cheer on the players from the stands at Fort Lewis College’s Cedar Field while slurping their sodas and chatting among themselves.
But this chatter is a little different.
The parents discussed the major strides their children made in the five-week season while participating in the first Dream League. A great example of that progress is provided by Brandi Clay. Being in a wheelchair doesn’t stop her from giving it her all.
With help from a buddy, she is pushed around the bases while spectators cheer.
Chris Clements, recreation supervisor for the Durango Parks and Recreation Department, started the program along with Mary Krause, the team’s general manager.
Both Clements and Krause are no strangers to working with people with special needs. Clements is a certified recreational therapist and has worked with special populations for much of the past 20 years. Krause worked with a softball team in Scottsdale, Arizona, called the Miracle League – which inspired the local team. Her son Erich, who has Down syndrome, is quite the athlete. He played in the Miracle League in Arizona. This season, he was able to bring his skills to Durango with the support of his mother.
Clements has spent time helping students with disabilities improve fitness and succeed in classes, he said. He met Krause about a year ago, and they brainstormed the idea of developing an adaptive softball program.
“There was really no league for these kids,” Krause said.
The key, however, was to make this program part of the other established recreational leagues, such as men’s softball, women’s softball, coed softball and kickball. All play at the FLC fields.
“We’ve been playing up there alongside our other programs,” Clements said.
It was important to make sure the softball team was part of the community and not tucked away in an isolated location, Clements said.
The league includes 14 players and nearly 30 volunteers.
The youngest player, Adam Kalk, is 10. Originally, the age requirement was going to be 12 to adult, but Clements said he would evaluate on a case-by-case basis and came to realize that Kalk could hold his own. He played very well with the team, Clements said.
George Camisa, Dream League coordinator, helps run the league and trains volunteers.
He has witnessed firsthand community support and enthusiasm. People become intrigued as they pass by. They stay and often come back, he said.
“For me, it’s more than just a game,” Camisa said. “It’s a great way to get the community out there.”
Players aren’t the only ones having fun. Volunteers really enjoy what they do, both Clements and Camisa said.
The volunteers, who range in age from 12 to adults, assist players throughout the game. Because players’ disabilities vary, the volunteers help them run bases, hit the ball, pitch, set up batting tees and provide support and encouragement. Volunteers are referred to as “buddies,” and each player is paired with one.
“The volunteers are out there because they want to be helping the players,” Camisa said.
One volunteer in particular, a middle-school boy, told his mother – who later passed the message along – he felt like he was becoming a better person, Camisa said.
Doug Rogers is one of many volunteers, and expressed his happiness to be a part of the league and help in whatever way he could.
Volunteer Caesar Sanchez’s high-spirited personality kept the players motivated and in the zone. He made sure everyone knew when they were up to bat and had their helmets on.
Jack Cavanaugh, a player, said he had fun throughout the five-week season. His mother, Jan Cavanaugh, said she was proud of her son and his accomplishments.
While some players face challenges communicating, the volunteers get a sense that the players are truly happy. Whether the players are able to verbally express their happiness or not, the emotion is evident through their actions, Clements said.
At the end of Monday’s game, the last of the season, each team member received a medal and finished off the evening eating Popsicles and basking in their accomplishments.
With community support and spectator enthusiasm, there’s growing interest in expanding the program next year. The hope is to have the season last eight weeks, Clements said. Krause said coordinators and volunteers also are looking to expand the program to include basketball, swimming and other sports.
“I hope this program reaches the Four Corners as people learn more and more about this opportunity,” Clements said.
vguthrie@durangoherald.com
