Special Night Of Baseball

The Claremont baseball program has a rich and storied history, but a new chapter was added a couple of weeks ago when a very special game was played on the Honkers’ field.

It was called Honker GRACEball. Kellie Beck and Sheila Sutton came up with the name that stands for a Game a Range of Abilities Can Enjoy (GRACE), and seven athletes with disabilities participated in the inaugural event.

“Friends of mine, Landon and Heather Sanderson of Woodbury, MN, were home for a family funeral earlier this summer,” said Jenn Gustafson, a member of the Claremont Summer Rec Program Board, “and at the church they were telling about how excited their daughter, Bree, was to get her turn at baseball in the Miracle League in the Twin Cities.”

Bree, the granddaughter of Lorrie and Carla Sanderson of Claremont and Dennis and Jean Fagerland of Langford, is in a wheelchair and doesn’t converse very much, but her excitement at getting the chance to participate in a real baseball game was obvious.

“Kellie Beck, who is part of a parental support group for kids with disabilities group, and I started messaging back and forth a little bit and we thought doing a similar game here was a good idea to explore,” noted Gustafson. “Kellie asked other parents in the group if they would be interested, and we decided to give it a try.”

Seven kids participated from the Claremont, Langford, Roslyn, and Britton areas, sporting special Honker Kelly green GRACEball T-shirts, along with Honker baseball and softball team members and family members who paired up as buddies with the athletes. They lived the entire baseball experience from standing on the baseline as the National Anthem was played to enjoying a full concession stand after the game.

But most of all there were smiles everywhere, mixed in with a few tears of happiness, on the faces of not only those playing the game but family members and friends watching as well.

“My biggest takeaway I think was just the inclusion and the switching of roles,” said Charmayne Cole of rural Langford, whose daughter, Taylor, participated in the game. “My cousins were there, and we had gone to their softball and t-ball games, and to have them in the crowd just meant a lot. And being able to see my child participating in a way every other child gets to was really special.”

“I thought the neatest thing was the kids,” said Beck, “especially the kids that really understood what it meant to play a game but couldn’t necessarily play with peers. To see the excitement of their faces was really neat, and I think it was fun for them to be the center of attention in a really positive way doing a normal thing. Austin goes to ballgames all the time, but for him to be the one that gets to be a player was a neat thing to see.”

The format of the game was similar to T-ball, and all the athletes were able to bat four times. Each time a player hit the ball, other balls were tossed to all the fielders and everyone had the opportunity to be involved in every play. Gabe Smith of Langford threw out the ceremonial first pitch and also served as the announcer for the night. The game went on for about 40 minutes and then players and fans chowed down at the concession stand. “The whole mission around Honker baseball and softball revolves around the fact that any kid that wants to play should be able to play free of charge,” said Gustafson. “With this game we were able to extend that mission to kids of all abilities as well. We’re not only looking at financial blocks but also physical blocks that some kiddos have. And the most rewarding things for me was to see the smiles on the kids’ faces. It actually made me cry.”

The event also allowed families to gather together in a different environment.

“Usually we’re caregivers, doctors, and therapists,” said Cole. “We don’t get a lot of opportunities for our families to get together in one space, and this was one of those times when we all got to watch each other’s kids do something that was fun and also to watch typical developing kids help and include them. I think it was just as special for the buddies to participate.”

Plans are to make the game an annual affair, and expectations are that when the word gets out, numbers of participants will take a big jump.

“We’ll have to make a few accommodations on the field,” said Beck. “We had a couple of walkers and wheelchairs and pushing wheels on the grass was a challenge. But it’s an easy enough fix – a couple of pieces of plywood and we will be good to go. We also may try to do it more than once next summer and with two specialized schools in Aberdeen we should be able to get more kids involved.”

“We hope this becomes a new tradition and something that will be really fun to continue,” noted Gustafson. “Baseball is a sport that our family loves and it’s a game that people with a range of abilities can enjoy. My grandpa used to take kids from the School for the Blind in Aberdeen to Twins games, so I kind of feel like we’ve come full circle.

“God is so good, and so many little details came together to make it a really touching night,” concluded Gustafson. “It was really a special night of baseball. It was such a joy to see the parents and grandparents reaction. Everyone was cheering and happy. Sometimes I think we lose track of the true intent of youth sports, and that night was all about youth sports for all the right reasons.”

Participants in the first Honker GRACEball game lined up along the third base line for the National Anthem. Seven athletes competed in the event sponsored by the Claremont Summer Rec Program and plans are to make it an annual event.