Structured Athletics for Challenged Children

[Emilysmom]

Emily has been a part of this awesome sports league for about eight years now, and I can't say enough about how GREAT it has been for her and her team mates! I've posted about it here before, but wanted to mention it again after last night's baseball game.......we had SO much fun!!!

This league was started by a woman whose oldest son was born with Ds. She and her husband were both very athletic and wanted so much for their son to play various sports, and they realized that sometimes "regular" teams can be so competitive that it might not be possible for their son to participate. So, they started this league, and they offer: Baseball, soccer, basketball, gymnatics, bowling, and karate. Each sport is played once a week for six weeks; except for gymnastics and it is offered every single Saturday morning from Labor Day to Memorial day. Emily LOVES it, and has totally enjoyed being part of this group. The ONLY requirement is that the kids be SIX years old to start, and that they have an IEP. We have "buddies" if the kids need one, and they are usually high school or college kids who volunteer their time.........and have a great time themselves.

Here is a couple pics of Emily yesterday. There were about 52 players, divided into six teams. Some kids use a T when they bat and others are pitched to by the coaches. Emily hit the very first ball pitched to her last night and she was SO excited! The 2nd picture was taken right after she came back to the dug out, lol and you can see how much she loves it!

[Pat]

Sounds like a lot of fun. Way to go Emily, great hitting. ;D ;D Love the pic.
Pat

[admama]

That is so cool!

[Ericsmomma]

Susan,
I LOVE the pic.....looks like she is having a ball! She has the most beautiful face and smile!
That would be a great pic for the "Time Square Video"...I know she's on this years, but you should keep this pic for next year.

[lorraine]

Well done Emily ;D
Sounds like a really good way of getting everyone involved in sports.
I bet it's a great confidence builder too
You can tell from the picture how proud Emily is ;D

Lorraine

[LisaRI]

WOO HOO Emily!!! ;D


Lisa

[CC]

Awww very cute and WTG EM on hitting from a pitch ;D

We too have that up our way they call it the Challenger League.

LOL Susan Hmmm tell me what is that pose Em is doing in the 2nd photo OMG Chris does that too in photos LOL

CC ~

[Valerie]

Is she just a little excited there in that picture? ;D

[momofrussell]

VERY COOL! And yes.. by the look of that one pic, Emily sure DID enjoy herself!!!! That is really cool Susan!!!!

A.

[Jessie]

Great pics!!! Glad she enjoys the program so much.

[Emilysmom]

CC,
I'm really not sure what her pose means, but she does something similar to that a LOT when she's excited about something and we take her picture. Remember the pic of her that is on the NDSS website? She's got both arms wide open and grinning from ear to ear. That one was taken when we were at the airport picking up her oldest brother, and LOL the pic looks like she was greeting him and ready to hug him. But, he hadn't even arrived yet! She was just very excited that he was on his way home.
She totally LOVES this program and getting all the cheers from the crowd. And, one thing I love is watching her brothers cheer for HER after all the various sports she has gone to and cheered for them.

Susan

[victoriasdad]

wow, hey do you have any litature on these sports, rules , formats, modified rules ect..... sounds great , if you do can u email or post them to me...... kachina_flats@ yahoo.com or p.o. 784 homedale, idaho 83628 c/o dennis or beth davis thank you..

[Emilysmom]

There is a website for this league, although I'm not sure how up-to-date it is. After you check out the website, let me know if you have other questions.

Here it is:
www.structuredathletics.org

[nathansmom]

I am ready to sign up. Nathan is only six months old, so I don't guess he can play ball yet. I bet he would make a great cheerleader. I would love to see everyone play sometime.

[Emilysmom]

Stacey,
The games rotate between Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons. We love the evening games because it's so much cooler! The next one is this coming Sat evening at 6pm (Cane Creek Tball field), but I don't think we'll be there for that one. The soccer games are always played at the YMCA soccer field, and they'll begin around October 7th or so (Sunday afternoons at 2pm). Basketball is Emily's very favorite sport, and that begins after Christmas. (Cane Creek School gym)
It's lots of fun!

Susan