The Rotary Club speaker for the day, Stacy Diefenbach, came to us via ZOOM since she came down with COVID. Stacey is the Executive Director of Miracle League of Plymouth. The mission of the league is to enrich our community by providing education and social development through high-quality recreation programs for individuals over 5 years old with special needs.
The League's main program is baseball. Photos of the League's field in Plymouth were shown. This field is made of special rubber material for the safety of the players. The life of the surface is nearing its end and will need resurfacing in the future.
When the games first started the players wore different colored T-shirts for each team. Now they have regular baseball shirts with the team’s name on them along with the players’ name and a number on the back. Now the players feel like regular little leaguers when they go for ice cream after the game.
Of course, the players depend on "buddies" to help them hit balls and run the bases. These "buddies" are parents, high schoolers or other adults who want to help these kids enjoy the sport. Stacy told us of the Catholic Central H. S. students who came to help grumbling and soon their attitude changed as they started working with the players. Those CC students were anxious to come back to help. They are always in need of Buddies to work with the participants.
The goal for the League is to expand sports and experiences for their members. New is basketball, rock climbing, pickleball, and bowling. Someone wanted to teach them to play the violin. The limit of time with an activity is kept to one hour but the students were engrossed for 90 minutes and presented an amazing program afterwards. They would like to introduce hockey and the possibility of skydiving in the future.
Susan Paluchniak
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