Challenger Baseball Forms Partnership Bigger Than Sports

A torrential downpour didn’t dampen the Opening Day spirits of the Anne Arundel County Challenger Baseball players, their coaches, families and friends on Saturday, May 14.

The county’s baseball program for athletes with special needs had to move their Opening Day festivities from Lake Waterford Park to Severna Park Middle School, but based on the smiles on their faces, the Challenger athletes hardly noticed they were indoors. And, for the 13th consecutive year, members of the Severna Park High School baseball program were there to assist their fellow ballplayers in the field, while batting and running the bases.

Anne Arundel County Challenger Baseball was created in 2007 to give adaptive athletes of any age the opportunity to learn baseball skills and teamwork and help build social skills in a sports environment.

“My son, Tyler, loved playing ball,” said Terri Hamrick-Oeschger, Challenger Baseball coordinator and coach. “When he was 3, that was all he wanted to do. He played in a program for a few years, but I was not happy with the way the adaptive athletes were being treated.

“I approached the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks about the possibility of creating a baseball program in the fall of 2006. With their incredible support, we were able to start a program. The first year we had about 20 athletes and now there are almost 80! We expanded from Freedom Field at Lake Waterford Park to a South County program at Tyler Heights Elementary.”

As for the Falcon baseball teams participating, Hamrick-Oeschger said the partnership with Challenger Baseball on Opening Day is a great way to create community ties. It helps adaptive athletes partner with high school players to work on skills, while giving high school players a different perspective on the field.

“My players start asking as soon as the season starts if the SPHS players are coming out for Opening Day,” added Hamrick-Oeschger. “They absolutely love having the other teams join us throughout the season, whenever possible.”

Severna Park junior varsity baseball head coach Dave Ferris has been involved in Challenger Baseball since it began working with the high school baseball program at its inception.

“This event is a season highlight for me and the players,” Ferris said. “Challenger Baseball provides the chance to give back to kids in the community who don’t have nearly the same opportunities as high school athletes. Seeing these athletes with physical and emotional challenges thrive and enjoy themselves while playing baseball allows us to truly keep things in perspective.”

Matthew Smith, a sophomore on the Severna Park junior varsity baseball team, thinks it’s important for the high school players to participate in this event because it gives the Challenger players a chance to meet new people and players who play the same game they play.

“I think it is important for the high school players to participate and hopefully serve as role models not only for the Challenger players but in our community,” he said.

Smith had the honor of being the catcher for the ceremonial first pitch to start the festivities.

Sophomore Zach Lundfelt felt that he and his teammates may have benefited more from the event than the Challenger players.

“It was a true learning experience for not just me but everyone attending the event,” Lundfelt said. “To see some of the challenges these strong kids face, [it] put me in a state of reflection. I had fun hanging out with the Challenger players and I made a few new friends. I loved the event.”

Hamrick-Oeschger said, “As a parent of a special needs athlete, it really means so much to know that other players are willing to give up their time to join a special needs program. They step up and do not see a difference. They are helping to make an impact in such a great way.”

Ferris sees the event as a big success.

“Year in and year out, I’ll have our players talk about how much they enjoyed working with these young athletes, including this year,” Ferris added. “It is also apparent that the Challenger athletes and coaches enjoy the interaction as well. Hats off, too, to the Orioles Advocates for their involvement and support.”

This year, the graduating seniors on the high school varsity team collected $500 for Challenger Baseball. The varsity team couldn’t attend Challenger’s Opening Day this year due to a playoff game, however, Ferris accepted a plaque on behalf of the entire Severna Park baseball program in recognition of the school’s years of partnership.

“Severna Park baseball considers it an honor and privilege to be involved with Challenger Baseball,” Ferris said.

Hamrick-Oeschger gets emotional when talking about the SPHS baseball friendship of more than a decade.

“It’s a great way to show that athletes of all abilities can play baseball,” she said. “It’s a great equalizer and helps the adaptive athletes know they belong to the elite group of athletes known as baseball players.”