Fun and Learning on the Diamond

Few people make it through childhood without having played, at least briefly, organized baseball or softball. Attleboro Youth Baseball's Challenger Division makes sure young locals with mental and physical challenges get this same opportunity.

"Many of the challengers have siblings and other relatives playing Attleboro Youth Baseball," said Scott Scales, a coach who helped organize the program and whose son plays on one of the four teams. "For them to get the opportunity to do what their siblings do is huge."

Challenger Division games have some differences from other youth baseball contests. Nobody keeps score. There are no outs and a player gets to keep swinging until he or she hits the ball. Also, everybody bats.

"The purpose is to set unrestrictive parameters for the challengers," Scales said. "They learn how to go from home plate to first base, how to throw a baseball and hand-eye coordination."

Scales said the players, who are ages 5 to 22, show noticeable improvement as they continue through the program, which is in its fourth year.

If a child is having trouble hitting the ball or making it to first base, that's not a problem. Adult and youth volunteers, or buddies, help the players get the most out of their game.

"The challengers are helped by the buddies, but the kids who are buddies get a lot from the challengers as well," Scales said. "They figure out what works for the challengers and how they can best help them."

Scales was at the  fields on Sunday for the Attleboro Challenger tournament. Ten teams from Attleboro (which includes players from Seekonk and Rehoboth), North Attleboro, Swansea, Riverside and Portsmouth participated.

A group of veteran players—18-year-old Michael Rivera, 16-year-old Joe Scales and 20-year-old twins John and Kyle Titus—spoke with Attleboro-Seekonk Patch about what they like about the program. They said they enjoy playing baseball, getting help from their buddies and being part of a team.

But for Joe Scales, what he likes best is what most people like about baseball. He said, "I like hitting the home runs."

This season is almost over, but the Challenger Division will need more players and buddies next season. Contact Brad Wasserman at Brad@attleboroyouthbaseball.com for more information.