Miss-Delectable
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Program Helps Hearing Impaired Kids Enjoy Summer Tradition
Baseball is called America's pastime, and many people say a baseball hitting the glove or the crack of a bat are the best sounds of summer.
What if you couldn't hear those sounds, but still wanted to join in the fun? That's the exact dilemma facing many kids with disabilities.
But this summer, they have a new outlet: the Northwest Springfield Free Youth Softball League. Their teams practice just as hard as other little league teams, but with a few modifications.
Running the bases, learning to pitch, and trying to hit one out of the park.
Those are the same drills as other little leaguers practice, but some of the players here use the help of an interpreter.
"I can tell when they're not listening to me," coach Rob Brantley says. "When they're not listening to me they're all looking at the ground."
This league began as a way for deaf kids to play sports, and it's now grown to include children with all kinds of disabilities.
"You name a classification or label for a kid, and we've got the kids out here successfully playing with their peers," Brantley says.
The rules are a little different: the players are constantly changing positions so everyone gets a shot at the action. But there's definitely a favorite spot.
"Playing bat and the person throws and I try to hit it harder," deaf player Ben Evans says.
"You get to bat hard," deaf player Crystal Buckmaster says.
Dakota Heyes signed on as a coach mentor and working with these players has inspired him to learn sign language.
"I get to participate with kids that are underprivileged, like the deaf ones that can't hear and have never probably played a sport, and they get to finally play a sport," Heyes says.
Many of the proud parents watching from the bench are deaf or have other disabilities themselves, and they say they only wish they had an outlet like this when they were growing up.
"I probably would be a lot more involved in things than I was before," mother Kim Buckmaster says. "I didn't grow up with any help at all."
Buckmaster says she's noticed Crystal is now more confident because she no longer feels like an outsider.
"She always thought she was the only deaf kid in the whole town of Springfield," Buckmaster says.
And now Crystal and her teammates know they can live life -- and play ball -- without limits.
"I don't care if you're deaf, I don't care if you've got autism, I don't care if you scream crazy words every once in a while because that's in your nature," Brantley says. "The key is we expect the same from every person."
The league has 150 players on nine teams, and has grown beyond Northwest Springfield to include kids from many of the surrounding counties. Anyone interested in getting involved can call (417) 693 - 4205.
It does not cost the league extra to have these interpreters at practices and games because they volunteer their time. In fact, 40 people help out to make sure everything runs smoothly so the kids can just worry about the game.
Baseball is called America's pastime, and many people say a baseball hitting the glove or the crack of a bat are the best sounds of summer.
What if you couldn't hear those sounds, but still wanted to join in the fun? That's the exact dilemma facing many kids with disabilities.
But this summer, they have a new outlet: the Northwest Springfield Free Youth Softball League. Their teams practice just as hard as other little league teams, but with a few modifications.
Running the bases, learning to pitch, and trying to hit one out of the park.
Those are the same drills as other little leaguers practice, but some of the players here use the help of an interpreter.
"I can tell when they're not listening to me," coach Rob Brantley says. "When they're not listening to me they're all looking at the ground."
This league began as a way for deaf kids to play sports, and it's now grown to include children with all kinds of disabilities.
"You name a classification or label for a kid, and we've got the kids out here successfully playing with their peers," Brantley says.
The rules are a little different: the players are constantly changing positions so everyone gets a shot at the action. But there's definitely a favorite spot.
"Playing bat and the person throws and I try to hit it harder," deaf player Ben Evans says.
"You get to bat hard," deaf player Crystal Buckmaster says.
Dakota Heyes signed on as a coach mentor and working with these players has inspired him to learn sign language.
"I get to participate with kids that are underprivileged, like the deaf ones that can't hear and have never probably played a sport, and they get to finally play a sport," Heyes says.
Many of the proud parents watching from the bench are deaf or have other disabilities themselves, and they say they only wish they had an outlet like this when they were growing up.
"I probably would be a lot more involved in things than I was before," mother Kim Buckmaster says. "I didn't grow up with any help at all."
Buckmaster says she's noticed Crystal is now more confident because she no longer feels like an outsider.
"She always thought she was the only deaf kid in the whole town of Springfield," Buckmaster says.
And now Crystal and her teammates know they can live life -- and play ball -- without limits.
"I don't care if you're deaf, I don't care if you've got autism, I don't care if you scream crazy words every once in a while because that's in your nature," Brantley says. "The key is we expect the same from every person."
The league has 150 players on nine teams, and has grown beyond Northwest Springfield to include kids from many of the surrounding counties. Anyone interested in getting involved can call (417) 693 - 4205.
It does not cost the league extra to have these interpreters at practices and games because they volunteer their time. In fact, 40 people help out to make sure everything runs smoothly so the kids can just worry about the game.