While Richmond City Baseball all-star teams take aim at provincial championships over the next month, arguably the association’s best work this season produced smiles and laughter on a regular basis.
It was two years ago when the RCBA launched it’s Challenger Baseball Division for children with cognitive or physical disabilities.
The program’s structure was established at the national level by Challenger Baseball Canada, with partnership from several organizations including Baseball Canada, Toronto Blue Jays and Sport Canada.
When John Braaten took over as association president and wanted to proceed with the Challenger Division, he didn’t have to look far to find a dedicated volunteer to run it.
“When John brought up the concept, I told him to sign me up,” smiled John Parnell. “My youngest son has autism and I had no idea about this whole world of special needs kids before that.
“I grew up playing sports, my two older kids play sports, so we started looking around. There wasn’t a lot going on so I volunteered on the board with Richmond City Baseball and specifically to start this.”
The Challenger Division is held on weekends from April to June and is designated for players ranging from five to 18 years of age. Registration for the entire season is just $50.
After running out of Brighouse Park last year, the program shifted to Whiteside elementary where it shared the diamonds with RCBA’s T-Ball program.
The whole idea is to ensure the kids and parents know and feel they are part of the regular minor baseball environment — complete with Chuckers’ ball caps, t-shirts and a concession stand nearby.
The sessions are no more than hour and Parnell admits he is still learning on the fly. Challenger Baseball Canada provided the association with start-up equipment and he had to determine what works and doesn’t work for his players.
“Last year was big learning experience. We tried doing a game and wow the kids were just sitting there in the dugout for eight to 10 minutes,” said Parnell, a Steveston High grad. “This year we had hitting, relay and throwing stations for five minutes at a time and the kids just rotate through. Then we typically end each session with a 10 to 15 minute game.”
Parnell couldn’t pull this off without tremendous support.
His wife Shauna leads the way — on and off the field — coordinating volunteers each week and keeping an eye on the kids’ behaviour.
Challenger Baseball has a “Big Buddy” system where each player is partnered up with a volunteer. The support for the Richmond program is so good that it’s typically two volunteers per child.
“The world is so different now. When my kid was born I was petrified at how he would be treated,” admitted Parnell. “ The number one thing I am blown away with (from this program) is the volunteers.
“They are young like teenagers and are so nice. Now I see my son in school how they interact with him and it’s amazing. It’s so much more accepting now and it’s so great.”
