Challenger Baseball quarter auction June 18
Coach Andy Morales shows Lawson Davidson how to prepare for hitting the ball during practice at a recent TCCB game.
Tuscarawas County Challenger Baseball will hold its annual quarter auction at Central Catholic High School on June 18 at 6 p.m. The auction raises funds for the county’s nonprofit baseball league for children and adults who have special needs or physical or mental disabilities.
TCCB was formed in 2010 as a division of Little League for kids up to 18 but also fields a senior league team for those over 18.
“We have children as young as 5 years old playing, and we also have a player who is 64,” said Jennifer Flaherty, president of TCCB.
Flaherty, who is in her 12th year with the organization, said the league started with nine players. “Now we have 59,” she said. “It’s the most we’ve ever had.”
Flaherty became involved with TCCB when she and her husband Jim, a coach for the team, were looking for a physical outlet for their eldest son, Clayton.
“He loved it from day one,” Flaherty said of her son.
The Flahertys’ younger son, Ryan, a senior this year at New Philadelphia High School, also plays. “Any child with an IEP in school can play,” she said.
Everyone gets a chance
Challenger Baseball is designed to give everyone a chance. “We play two innings of baseball,” Flaherty said. “Everybody gets to hit the ball. Everybody plays the outfield. Everybody cheers for everybody. We don’t have any outs, and we don’t keep score.”
Instead, Flaherty said the league works on a different set of skills. “We work a lot on socialization, being independent and trying to do things that our typical peers do, like building friendships and waiting turns,” she said.
Flaherty said TCCB also provides important childhood friendships. “Many of them have a hard time making friends. So they have their baseball friends because their baseball friends aren’t staring at them as they’re stimming or as they’re spinning in circles or whatever,” she said.
Casey Miller has seen his son Kody improve dramatically since joining the team. “At first he had to hit off the tee, and we had to work with him a lot,” he said. “But he was on third base last week, and he didn’t even need a buddy. The ball came to him, and he just took it.”
Flaherty has seen other improvements as well. “What I’ve seen with Cody is that he used to need a buddy because he would get distracted easily. Now he’s running bases on his own. He seems to be more focused more of the time,” she said.
TCCB is as important for parents as it is for the players. “Parents can network and find out new resources and things that are going on in the area,” Flaherty said, “or just learn that they’re not on an island by themselves.”
Funds are always needed
According to Flaherty, funds raised by the auction are needed for many reasons. “We offer grants for children in families that are struggling financially. I never want the issue of money to be the reason someone can’t play,” she said.
It costs money to go to tournaments, and the league has to purchase various baseball equipment each season including equipment for special-needs kids.
“We recently bought a belt for a girl who is just starting to walk with a gait walker but is still a bit unsteady. So whoever is with her can hold onto the belt while she walks,” Flaherty said.
All funds raised in the auction will go toward TCCB’s hosting of the state Challenger Baseball tournament in Dover City Park starting June 19. Approximately 13 leagues will attend, bringing about 2,000 people to the park, according to Flaherty.
“We try to make everything free for people coming into town, because a lot of times, parents with kids who have special needs don’t have the funds to travel,” Flaherty said.
Auction details
Tickets to attend the TCCB quarter auction are $5 per person. Doors will open for the auction at 5 p.m. with the auction starting at 6 p.m. The evening also will include raffles, a silent auction and a 50/50 drawing, for which the winner must be present.
Concessions will be available beginning at 5 p.m. The auction will be held at Central Catholic High School, 777 Third St. NE, New Philadelphia.