The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Baseball group seeks coaches, players, volunteers
Organization focuses on those on autism spectrum
Taylor Duncan was diagnosed with autism when he was only 4 years old — something that kept him out of traditional playing opportunities.
“I had a lot of developmental delays, but with my mother, my teachers and mentors through the years, I overcame those obstacles,” said Duncan, the CEO of the Alternative Baseball Organization, which originated in Dallas, Ga. “I don’t think my calling is to play at higher levels much more than it is helping others like myself become successful.”
The Alternative Baseball Organization, which Duncan started in 2016, is a nonprofit authentic baseball experience for teens and adults ages 15 and over with autism and other disabilities to gain social and physical skills for success in life on and off the diamond.
The program follows Major League Baseball rules such as those involving wood bats, base stealing, a dropped third strike and more. Duncan said it’s a true, typical team experience for others on the autism spectrum and special needs to help develop social
skills for later in life.
The program is currently looking for a volunteer coach/manager, volunteers and players to help start new programs in Lake County and the surrounding area, Duncan said.
Due to the novel coronavirus, recruitment for this year has begun virtually.
“We must find the coach/ manager in order to begin,” Duncan said. “Players can be of all experience levels. We take them from where they start out, whether they require to be pitched to slow overhead or hit off the tee, and help develop their physical and social skills.”
In many suburban and rural areas, there are no services for those to continue their path toward independence, Duncan said.
“Whether you live in a small area or large area, every area is struggling for more services. That’s clear as day,” Duncan said. “There are some, but there are some (potential players) that do not qualify for what
is out there because either they’re too old or they test too high on an intellectual quotient test.
“With that, we’re trying to cover everywhere we can possibly cover so everyone can have the opportunity.”
Duncan started the Alternative Baseball Organization to give others on the spectrum and those with special needs the opportunity to be accepted for who
they are and to be encouraged to be the best they can be.
“There are no buddies on the field, no systems or anything like that,” Duncan said. “It’s as traditional as we can possibly make it.”
In 2016, the program started recruiting in Georgia, and practices and scrimmages followed. At the end of 2017, the program started a second team and
the two teams would play against each other.
“ESPN and the Today Show came and did their segments. That’s when it really turned from a local awareness campaign to a solution for a national need,” Duncan said. “That’s when we started expanding. The spectrum is so diverse that it’s nearly impossible to cover the entire spectrum.”
For Duncan, the Alternative Baseball Organization is about the players who choose to participate, the parents who bring players to practices and provide support and the volunteers, he said.
“It’s fantastic to go out everywhere and meet everyone, and to learn each individual story because everybody is truly unique in this league everywhere you go,” Duncan said.
“It takes time to find the players. It takes up to six months to a full year to actually fill a full team, which is why we’re recruiting now.”
Duncan calls his organization a baseball experience rather than a league because it’s about building character, friendships, developing those friendships with others and learning how to work together as a team, he said.
“It’s about building those team chemistry skills and learning how to motivate each other when times get tough,” Duncan said. “The game of baseball is a perfect way to experiment with these life skills that we’ll develop, and apply to employment and any area of our personal life. It goes way beyond wins, losses and statistics.”