When parents of a child with a disability first receive the diagnosis, their minds might start to fill with all the things their child might miss out on, and the ways their life might look different. But Nick Lionas, the Director of Adaptive Recreation at Easterseals MORC, is making sure parents know that not everything has to be different.
“A parent might be holding their kid in infancy and think, ‘Am I ever going to see them round the bases? Are they going to be able to play sports? Am I going to be able to coach them?’ Miracle League says yes to all these things,” Lionas says.
Instead of focusing on the differences, Easterseals MORC and its program, Miracle League of Michigan, is focusing on the ways they can be the same.
Founded in 2004, the Miracle League of Michigan and its adaptive ballpark, Miracle Field, are providing the life lessons and fun of team sports to metro Detroiters with physical or mental disabilities. The program is based in Southfield, the home of their customized baseball field designed to allow players of all ability levels to enjoy America’s favorite pastime.
Built with synthetic turf in the outfield and poured rubber along the infield, the layout provides a safe, wheelchair accessible park with stadium-like amenities. With a 4-foot-tall outfield wall, Miracle Field gives players the chance to hit homers like their favorite Tiger.
Last week, Tigers players Spencer Torkelson, Zach McKinstry, and Parker Meadows joined players and volunteers in Southfield at the annual Baseball Fantasy Camp for Kids at Miracle Field. Fifty metro Detroit kids learned how to play baseball alongside the MLBers and received a Tigers’ jersey and hat to commemorate the day.
The league is about more than just learning to play a sport — it’s the opportunity to grow and develop in a safe environment. Lionas believes the lessons learned at Miracle Field will have lifelong effects.
“Every year of organized sports someone plays, their employability goes up,” Lionas said. “As we try to embrace people with different needs, it’s important to know that team sports at all levels have an impact on our social development.”
Although many of the program’s 500 yearly participants are kids, the league doesn’t have an age limit, which means the fun doesn’t have to stop when they turn 18.
“We have players that play into their 60s,” Lionas says. “There are players that have been here for 20 years, since the league started. They’ve grown up on it, and I don’t seem them ever leaving.”
Last year, the Miracle League expanded to include hockey, bowling, and adaptive fitness programming, giving players a chance to try new things and stay active all year round. But most importantly, it provides players and their families with a community and solid support system to lean on.
“Whatever sport catches their interest brings them into the community,” Lionas says. “And it’s more than baseball. It’s more than fun and fitness. It’s a community, and the parents enjoy each other too.”
The Miracle League’s fall baseball registration is now open until Aug. 31. To learn more about registration, the league, or how to get involved, visit their website at michiganmiracle.org.
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