Moss Bluff Buddy Ball Offers Sports Opportunities For Children With Special Needs
Moss Bluff Buddy Ball provides an avenue for children with special needs to participate in sports – softball in the spring, soccer in fall, and basketball in winter.
Any child with a disability that prevents him or her from participating in traditional youth sports is welcome at Buddy Ball. Children with Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, autism, spinal cord or other injuries … all can be accommodated.
Individuals from the community and youth from local competitive leagues volunteer their time to help the kids in Buddy Ball.
Each participant teams up with a volunteer who helps him or her by running alongside, pushing the wheelchair around the bases, or supporting the participant in whatever way is needed.
It’s a positive non-competitive environment for these children, who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the thrill of batting, running the bases, kicking a ball or shooting a basket.
“Everybody hits, and it’s a home run every time,” says board member Barbara Duplichan.
Buddy Ball benefits special needs children in many ways. Exercise is great for anyone. But the program offers more than a physical outlet. It shows these kids, and the community at large, that they can achieve more than they think they can. It lessens the stigma that is often associated with disabilities.
Buddy Ball provides a sense of community and camaraderie by bridging the social gap that special needs children often experience. In that respect, the program benefits not only the participants, but the volunteers as well.
“The volunteers and participants become good friends with each other,” says Duplichan. “They see each other in school and interact with each other.”
Moss Bluff Buddy Ball has been serving disabled children since 1998. It started when Don Manuel, a former Moss Bluff police juror, traveled to Round Rock, Texas, to watch a grandson play baseball. While there, he observed an organization called Challenger Ball that was conducting ball games with special needs children on a nearby field. Inspired, he returned to Moss Bluff and created Buddy Ball. Manuel’s grandson Chad, who has cerebral palsy, was one of the first participants.
Some of the participants in Buddy Ball started in the group when they were young and have continued to attend the games. That’s how important this organization is to these young people.
The children enthusiastically look forward to playing every Monday and Friday.
“Some kids are so excited, they put their [game day] shirts on the night before so they are ready for the next day,” says Lynette Manuel, board member and Chad’s mother. “It means so much to them.”
When Chad was younger, Buddy Ball provided him with an opportunity to make friends and be with other children who faced similar challenges. Now 26, he still plays. “It gives Chad a productive activity and a sense of purpose,” says Lynette.
Alexis May, who has Down Syndrome and is now 23, joined Buddy Ball at age nine. She opened the season this year by throwing out the first pitch. “Buddy Ball is fun,” she says.
According to Duplichan, 50 children are currently involved with Moss Bluff Buddy Ball. Games are played Monday and Friday evenings at 5:45. Most children in the program participate in all three sports offered throughout the year, but they are not required to do so.
In addition to sports, the organization plans other social events, such as water park picnics, holiday parties and occasional dances.
There is no formal registration or fee to join. For more info, to volunteer, or to get your child involved in Buddy Ball, call Barbara Duplichan at (337) 526-0476 or Lynette Manuel at (337) 526-0744. You can also visit the Facebook page, Moss Bluff Buddy Ball.
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