Personal Narrative: My Experience At Miracle League

One summer’s day in 2014, I borrowed my neighbor’s lawn mower and met my teammates at the batting cage. I began mowing down the weeds, while they raked. Others restretched the netting back across the top of the cage. By the time the afternoon came we had a batting cage and a real sense of pride. From that day forward, we began practicing every day, year round. We talked baseball, walked baseball, lived and breathed the stuff. We shared our equipment and made do with what we had. We turned ourselves from a rag-tag bunch of misfits into a

Last year was the first time I worked the Special Olympics, and I didn’t know what to expect. I signed up for it with my basketball team because the Special Olympians would be playing basketball and volunteers were needed to help run the scoreboard and keep time. Mr. Campbell, the man in charge, told me that the opportunity to play basketball will be an incredible experience for the special needs participants, but working the event will have an even greater affect on me. I was

Imagine standing on a softball field expected to perform at the age of 5. Even though the butterflies in my stomach were starting a war, nothing was going to stop me from stepping on that field to play my first tee ball game as a Little Tiger. Fans cheered, but what I noticed most was a little boy in the outfield picking his nose. Standing in the box, I was terrified; the field looked huge. I had never seen anything like this before, but I knew that the little boy was the person I needed to hit the ball to, so I hit the ball as hard as I could. The ball went soaring through the air like a bird on fire. Dropping from the air, it rolled to the fence. At that time, I knew I had fallen in love with the game of softball. I was smiling from ear to ear, I couldn’t believe I had hit the ball that far! Both sides screamed, yelled, and shouted with excitement. Was all this commotion for me? I rounded first, but I couldn’t go to second because my teammate, Kylie Leach, didn’t run. I didn’t know what she was doing. Sadly, the batter after me hit a ground ball to the pitcher, and the other team threw him out at first.

With the help of teachers and my efforts, I have been successful and was even a recipient of an academic achievement award for students with a 3.6 GPA or higher. It is not always easy learning the materials, studying and placing my thoughts onto paper, yet I will continue to advocate for myself in any circumstance necessary. Despite having learning challenges in the classroom, it does not limit my activities outside of the classroom. I love to volunteer! One of my favorite activities includes being a volunteer buddy for the Miracle League of the Fox Valley. The Miracle League is a baseball organization for children and adolescents with physical and/or cognitive challenges. My role of a buddy is to assist my fellow buddy in any needs she may need, protect her from possible injuries and make sure she is having fun! I love having the opportunity of being a buddy, it has formed a forever lasting companionship and provided smiles that touch us all! Addition to the Miracle League, I’m a member of National Honor Society in which I volunteer in several community organizations to help better the community. I was honored to be selected as a Link Crew member. It has been one of my greatest opportunities to advocate for my peers with disabilities. This is a first time that Appleton North Link Crew created a program for students with physical and cognitive challenges to be included in a freshman transition program in

Throughout my life, I’ve always had an immense interest in helping others. Being involved in the National Charity League for 5 years has given me the opportunity to be involved with charities that I otherwise would’ve never known about. I’ve had the privilege to help with over b charities in and around my community throughout my years as an NCL member. By far my favorite would have to be Grace’s Feed Our Kids that I have volunteered at every summer since my start in NCL. Through this charity, we are able to provide lunches and fun games to underprivileged kids in Grapevine during the unbearably hot Texas summer days. Each day we serve different meals, either donated from local restaurants or homemade by my NCL class, and have a variety of things for the kids to do, like coloring, water guns,

There are thousands of children who play sports in the communities on facilities supported by residents through their tax dollars. The Miracle League of El Paso provides disabled children and young adults in our communities who cannot participate in a sport on a conventional field with a place to play baseball. The Miracle League of El Paso removes the obstructions that stop children with disabilities off the baseball field and allows them to experience playing the field. The main obstruction for disabled children starts from the natural grass fields. The Miracle League of El Paso is about building self-esteem, making new friends, and confidence. The Miracle League of El Paso applies a "buddy" system – coupling each

In today’s society, there are many ways in which people communicate within their individual community. One community in which many people do not fully understand is the game of baseball. Baseball is one of the most popular sports in the U.S. and has been deemed America’s pastime. For me, sports are my life, especially when it comes to this particular game. I started playing baseball around the age of 4 and continue to play here at the university for the UC Club Baseball Team.

Each and every week I would head out to the baseball park, not because the experience would always leave me with joy, but because of the joy and satisfaction that the players had when they came and left the field. Many of the player’s parents told my fellow buddies and I, that the players would start counting down the days until the next Sunday, as soon as they’d get into the car! Throughout the entire Challenger season, I was reminded of how easy my life actually is, and how a how much I take for granted daily. With this program having such a great impact, I was dedicated to making sure that the player’s experience was the best possible. Which meant that I would often get there early, and help our Challenger division coordinator, to set up and makes sure that everything was ready for when the players came. My hard-work, and readiness to help out obviously were apparent to the coordinator, Jeff Sandes, as he came to me at the end of last year’s season to thank me for all the hard work, time and effort, I had put in to make sure that the players' experiences were the best

Although it would have been easier at the time to stick with what I knew, I wouldn’t let the doubt of others instill itself in my mind. I continued to work hard, excited to prove myself when given the opportunity, with and dedication and determination I knew I had the ability to create my own luck, my chance would come soon enough. And it did. My second year of high school softball rolled around and I knew my chance had arrived. Our only third basemen graduated and it was my turn to prove myself. I wasn’t perfect by any means, but my hard work and dedication that I had put into the sport proved undeniable. At the end of the season I had received first- team all-metro, first- team all-league, and honorable mention all-region, for third

Score International is a sports mission ministry that allows groups to travel around the world and volunteer in different capacities such as medical, spiritual, and through different sporting events including baseball. Score International is already helping to organize the University of Louisville baseball team’s trip to the Dominican republic this fall and already has a great relationship with Coach McDonnell. I have a lot of experience with this type of community service as well. I am a volunteer coach for a girls youth basketball team and help with both practices and games. During my sophomore year in high school, I traveled to the third world country of Guatemala for a Spanish class trip. One of the main reasons that I went on this trip was because of the volunteer opportunities. Our group went to a elementary school that was very poor. They had almost no school supplies or sporting equipment and the school was very overcrowded. Our volunteering consisted of donating school supplies to help them with their education and also playing sports and exercising with them. Many of the kids that would be participants in the baseball camp would be around the same age as these kids were and I have a lot of

In ninth grade, my mother suggested that I volunteer with peers at my high school who are special needs. She thought it would be good for me to meet other people my age who have their unique struggles in school, much like myself. I protested originally, but little did I know I would love volunteering with my peers, regardless of their disability. During this time, I signed up to volunteer with a local organization called Buddy Ball. At Buddy Ball, I had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities ages five through twenty-one baseball. When I volunteered with my peers, I mainly saw high schoolers with severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbances, whereas with Buddy Ball most of the participants had severe autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, or a multiple of disabilities. Both of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge of a variety of special

Ottawa-Glandorf athletics taught me more than I ever thought I would have learned. Being apart of Titan sports comes with a stigma: a stigma to be great, to work hard, and to carry good sportsmanship. I participated in Ottawa-Glandorf sports so I could be apart of a team, enhance leadership skills, and build relationships with peers. My freshman year I decided to join the girls soccer team. I was a little hesitant as I was the only Glandorf girl on the team, but after the first week of practice, I met some of my best friends I have today. Although I didn’t get much playing time, I always tried my hardest, gave it my all, and was a leader on and off the field.

In 1963 Mrs. Kennedy Shriver organized a day camp in her back yard for the handicapped children in Rockville, Maryland. Five years later she brought the first Special Olympics to Soldier Field in Chicago. Around one thousand enthusiastic athletes participated in the event. There are now 143 countries involved, and 16,000 sports events every year with over one million athletes ("Anniversary"). Through the Special Olympics thousands of handicapped people have conquered their fears and struggles, learned communication skills and trades for employment. Because of the underlying lessons taught through sports they can lead active, exciting, and courageous lives within their own communities. After learning about these incredible athletes, the drawbacks of special education programs in public schools, Athletes for Outreach (AFO), true success stories, and the rewards for

When I was first awoken before 8:00 a.m on a Monday morning in July, it is not hard to imagine how unamused I was. My mom had signed me up to volunteer for two weeks at the Munroe Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Their summer camp for kids with special needs ages three and a half through twenty-one had become my home for the next week. This camp provides an summer camp experience for kids who would not otherwise have one. The campers are divided into groups with staff and volunteers as well. A volunteer at Camp Monroe has a new buddy every day they help their buddy with tasks, offer encouragement, and give simple direction when needed. The activities for the campers include: swimming, cooking, sports, creative

We understand, as you should, that fundraising is as important to youth baseball as a child having fun on the field. Given our ambitious goals, as a team and within the community, we cannot be successful without your help and financial support.