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| What is the Field of Hope? |
The Field of Hope was formed for all mentally and physically challenged children up to 18 years old and designed to give them the fun, experience, and opportunity to play baseball in its purest form.
Imagine an afternoon baseball game. A player hits the ball and heads for first base. Imagine teammates cheering. Now imagine the player is in a wheelchair. Imagine all the players are children with disabilities.
Today, Peachtree City Little League Challenger Division offers disabled children the opportunity to play youth baseball on a real team, to learn the game and to create lasting friendships. No score is kept. Every player is a winner. Everyone has a turn at bat, advances through the bases, and takes a turn in the outfield. Through the "buddies" program, Challenger League players are often paired with local High School ball players and volunteers from the community. In this way, the community is learning about inclusiveness, increasing their knowledge about children with disabilities and fostering community partnerships.
The Challenger Division of Little League was developed for mentally and physically disabled youth. Both boys and girls can enjoy the full benefits of Little League participation in an athletic environment, structured to their abilities. This league will accommodate participant's ages 5-18, or the completion of high school. More than the skills of baseball learned through the experience, the value of the Challenger Division is found in the proven therapeutic and socialization benefits of participating in sports, the strengthening of the participant's self-esteem, the opportunity to mainstream into other Divisions of play, and the disciplines of teamwork, citizenship and fairplay that are hallmarks of this league program.
The philosophy of the Challenger Division is to provide the framework so that every child may experience a structured, athletic activity. Playing equipment, uniforms, official shoulder patches and any special event activities provided for existing Divisions of Little League are to be available for the Challenger participants as well.
A key to a successful Challenger Division is the careful selection of managers and coaches as well as sponsors. Qualified adult leadership must reflect positive and constructive direction, tempered with patience and understanding. The teams can be made up of player's equal in ability, rather than emphasis on age.
A wide range of abilities of Challenger participants will necessitate variations not only in the rules, but in the philosophy of conventional baseball. One of the unique benefits of the Challenger Divisions is the use of the "buddy" system, whereby handicapped players will be assisted by non-handicapped players, e.g., helping handicapped players in rounding bases. This buddy system has been a proven benefit in programs across the country in establishing good relationships between disabled and non-disabled players.
Where will the Field of Hope be located?
There are plans to build the Field of Hope in Peachtree City, Georgia to service the South Atlanta area. It will take the support of the community to build it as the total cost of this endeavor is estimated at $600K.
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