The Miracle League at Town & Country

The Miracle League at Town & Country

Written by Tiffany Young Friday, 09 May 2008

When Steve Brown saw a television program about The Miracle League, a non-profit organization that allows disabled children to play baseball, he not only knew Austin needed the program, he decided he would be the one to start it.

Brown was a board member of the Town and Country Optimist Club at the time and knew the Optimist Club’s 96-acre sports complex could easily accommodate a new field alongside the softball, baseball, football and soccer fields already in existence.

“Something like this just kind of worked perfectly into what we do,” said Brown, who is now the president of the board of his club. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be doing it – somebody should be doing it here in Austin.”

While the land was already donated, The Miracle League needed funding to make the field happen. So, the club contacted the Round Rock Express and the Nolan Ryan Foundation, which decided to become the field name sponsor, and donated $250,000 to The Miracle League. With money backing their plans, the Optimist Club could start work on the field. With the help and donations of architect Michael Antenora, along with Cunningham |Allen, Inc. engineers, Hellas Construction and some others, the field plans were under way.

Estimates for the field had been anywhere from $750,000 to $900,000, but with the donations from local businesses, it was built with just $500,000.

“We just had a lot of people step up and help out,” said Brown. “It was really refreshing.”

The Miracle League did not wait for the field to be built to begin its games. The first were played on softball fields and showed Brown why they needed special fields for the games.

“We needed a specialized field for these kids with walkers and wheelchairs, and we wanted them to have their own field,” said Brown. “And we wanted it out at Town and Country as well because their siblings could be playing on another field right at the same complex and they [could] come over and play their own game.”

The field took about one year to build and includes a large concession stand, two large public restrooms, and two smaller private restrooms along the site.

The field was completed spring of last year.

In the fall, more than 90 players were registered to play, and Brown said he hopes to sign up at least a hundred this spring.

Because there is a buddy system with teenagers helping each disabled child during the game, parents can relax and watch the kids from the stands, cheering the players.

There are seven games per season, each game consisting of about two innings with each player getting to bat every inning. Everyone is safe, meaning everyone scores and the last batter of each inning scores a home run.

“It’s a laid-back game,” Brown said. “In between the innings, everyone comes in to the backstop and we have a microphone and everyone sings Take me out to the ball game. And then we do the chicken dance.”

The Miracle League is now registering for the spring season. To register, call 335-7434.

Buddy Up

The Miracle League has a buddy system where local teenagers volunteer to assist Miracle League players during games. Brown said one of the biggest rewards in working with the Miracle League is “watching the buddies get involved and realize that these kids aren’t going to fall apart if you touch them and kid around with them. They get really close and the buddies come in there the first day and they’re so timid and shy and ‘gosh, what do we do?’ and by the second game they’re just rolling around with them.”

The Miracle League at Town & Country, PO Box 200277, Austin TX 78720, 335-7434, contact@austinmiracleleague.org