Having a Ball in Fern Creek

On a baseball field at Fern Creek Park recently, 7-year-old Adam Smith of Mount Washington, who has Down syndrome, hit several dingers in a row. "He'll hit all day," his dad, Scott Smith, said. "He's in heaven now; he thinks he just gets to hit over and over." Adam is a player in the new Buddy Ball league, developed for special-needs school-aged children, which doesn't keep score.

It pushes thrills over tactics.

There are about twice as many people as usual on the field because each child has a buddy, usually a parent or volunteer, at their position to help them. The league kicked off its first season late last month with two dozen excited children soaking up the opportunity to play T-ball.

"I've got a soft spot for these kids," said Debie Stickler, organizer of the league. Her 10-year-old son, Noah, who attends Bates Elementary, has cerebral palsy. Stickler said there was a lack of sports opportunities for special-needs children in the Fern Creek area. She said several sponsors have come on board, including Fern Creek Babe Ruth, which has welcomed Buddy Ball into its league. She hopes by next season she will have raised enough money to lay turf to better accommodate the children, especially those in wheelchairs.

She had enough players this spring to create two teams, whose names have a special meaning. "The first thing that came to my mind was that these were 'brave angels' -- these kids go through so much," Stickler said. So she had her first two team names, the Braves and the Angels.

During a game to benefit the Crusade for Children this month, the Fern Creek Fire Department pitched in and buddied up with children on the field. "We all have to help each other. Everybody is trying to make it through life and enjoy themselves," Deputy Chief Rob Storrie said. "If we can help the kids enjoy themselves then we have succeeded."

Donna Bailey of Fern Creek is the mother of Travis, 11, a Buddy Ball player who has spina bifida. He has had to endure 33 surgeries. "We've never had anything like this here," Bailey said. "Travis has faced tons of challenges. They're so much more like normal kids than they are like disabled kids. They want to play ball and they want to have fun."

The Smiths, who are in the process of moving to Louisville, send Adam, a first-grader, to Norton Elementary. Scott Smith said he would like to see more special-needs sports leagues grow. "The schools are getting better and better as far as the inclusion," Smith said. "They (non-disabled students) learn as much from Adam and the other children with disabilities as he learns from them."

Bailey said she was glad to see her son count down the days until he played another game of T-ball. "When they are able to come out here and play ball and be normal like their friends at school, it's pretty incredible."

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