Up to the Challenge
Jays Care Foundation hopes to give further boost to Challenger baseball
Allison Kearley knows firsthand the value of Challenger baseball for kids with cognitive and/or physical disabilities.
“We have a daughter (Jessica, age 13) with autism,” said Kearley, who along with her husband Trevor started Challenger baseball in Pictou County about six years ago.
“It’s an opportunity for them to play a sport, be involved in something and feeling part of a team,” said the teacher at G.R. Saunders Elementary School.
“I really like working with special needs kids and creating opportunities for them.
“The kids who originally started with Challenger baseball in Pictou County are now able to swing the bat and hit without a tee. That’s amazing.”
On Jan. 11 at the Stellarton school, about 10 children, along with a few ‘buddies,’ or mentors with the program, were on hand as representatives from the Jays Care Foundation, a program launched by the Toronto Blue Jays, arrived at the school to do some baseball-related activities.
They hit balls off of tees, did some throwing and catching, and learned a little bit about how the bases and home plate are set up.
The Jays Care Foundation was already working with Baseball Canada and Little League Canada to run Challenger Baseball across the country.
“There’s a huge presence already here in Nova Scotia,” said Julia Porter, one of three reps from the Jays Care Foundation who were at the event.
“We’ve just started running a similar program in B.C. and Ontario in schools, (and) we said, ‘why don’t we come and see if we can help inspire a couple of schools, to see if they to want to get involved in running Challenger baseball in their school season, as well?’
“The cool thing about Challenger is that it’s an integrated league, so kids can come out and play and fall in love with sport, and hopefully develop a longtime passion for being active and being leaders in sports. We’re going to introduce some baseball-related activities and ignite a bit of a fire (and) get them excited to see what can happen when they play baseball.”
Porter added parents of children who are involved with Challenger baseball rave about the benefits of the program.
“One of the biggest tangible outcomes, the biggest tangible evidence is when we hear from parents all the time – kids who are playing Challenger baseball are feeling way more confident in themselves, not just on the baseball field, but in the classroom, and they’re starting to be more independent.”
For more information about Challenger baseball in Pictou County, call Trevor or Allison Kearley at 695-2148.