Challenger Baseball to host first home run derby
Kaelynn Napier, 11, of New Philadelphia waves to her fans on the way to first base. Assisting is coach Greg Rennicker.
The Tuscarawas County Challenger Baseball team will hold its first home run derby on Tuesday, July 11 at 6 p.m. at its field at 2000 Pleasant Valley Road near New Philadelphia.
“It’ll be the Little League that will go up first, anybody that wants to do it, and then the Senior League will be able to do it. We’re inviting anybody on the league, present or past players, that would want to play,” said Jennifer Flaherty, coordinator of Tuscarawas County Challenger Baseball.
The event was initiated by one of the Senior League players who wanted to have a home run derby, and Flaherty wanted to give it a try.
“What’s nice about this field is our field is adjustable, so we can bring that fence in,” Flaherty said.
The fence is on wheels so it can be moved closer or farther from home plate depending on the batter.
The public is invited to attend the event. The rain date is July 18.
The Tuscarawas County Challenger Baseball league began in 2010. The league accommodates a variety of challenges, so every athlete can participate.
“We currently play two days a week. The games last about an hour. We have two innings, we don’t have any outs and we don’t keep any score,” Flaherty said.
Players bat until they get a hit.
During the season the teams play at the Challenger Field outside of New Philadelphia on Tuesdays and at Dover Park on Fridays.
The games teach a lot more than sports.
“We work a lot on socialization, friendship, waiting our turn, a lot of things that you just need to know, and then we also have fun by playing baseball,” Flaherty said.
Ages range from young to old.
“Currently, our oldest player is 49 years old,” Flaherty said. “We have 68 players, which is wonderful. We’re up 21 new players this year.”
The Challenger Little League is from age 5-22. Players can join the Senior League as young as 16 if they wish.
Buddies are available to help the players if needed.
“You don’t have to have a buddy. But we just have buddies with some people that might have some problems catching the ball or batting or holding a bat. We have buddies for their protection, to make sure that they stay safe. But not everybody needs a buddy,” Flaherty said.
The regular season starts the third week in May and runs until the beginning of July.
“Then in July we have games for kids or players that are going to state tournament,” Flaherty said.
The state tournament will be held Aug. 11-13 in Toledo.
“We just finished up our big quarter auction fundraiser, which helps pay for our teams and our families to be able to go to tournaments,” Flaherty said.
The fundraiser allows the local Challenger Baseball organization to pay for a two-night stay in a hotel and provide dinner on Saturday night.
The league also pays for snacks at games for the athletes.
“So we don’t have to worry about who has a snack and who’s bringing what,” Flaherty said.
Tuesday is a popular day as the players get snow cones after each game.
Look for more Challenger Baseball activities too.
“We’ll have a grand finale, which is like our World Series of Baseball, on Saturday night, July 29,” Flaherty said. “That will be at Dover Park because it won’t start till 6:30 so that the seniors can play under the lights. That’s always a big thing for our kids to be able to play under the lights.”
Operating the league takes much support.
“We have a lot of great sponsors, plus Tuscarawas County is wonderful for giving us donations, either monetary donations or in-kind donations. Our community is absolutely amazing,” Flaherty said. “Dover Exchange Club helps us. Kimble’s has helped us, and Charlie Jones is a huge supporter for us. Tuscarawas Central Catholic is great for us. We have a lot of great people in the community that like to help. This past weekend we had our quarter auction, and we were able to reach an all-time high of over $11,000.”
Donations for the league are accepted year round on the website. The league supplies some items for the players to use including helmets in a variety of sizes, jerseys and bats. It also provides a glove to use if needed.
There are a lot of rewards for volunteers involved with Challenger Baseball.
“I just like to see their smiles, to see them being happy, and seeing them doing things that their peers are doing and watching them grow,” Flaherty said. “I love to hear the parents talk, communicate and network with each other. A parent that has a child or adult with special needs, sometimes they just feel they’re alone or that their child is different. So just to hear the parents networking with each other and talking with each other, that just makes me happy too.”
While most of the volunteers are parents, there are some volunteers from the community.
“Once you come to a game, you want to come to more. If you come in a bad mood, you’re going to leave in a good mood — I can tell you that,” Flaherty said.
The construction of the New Philadelphia area field adjacent to Faith Christian Church was provided by the Rainbow Connection.
“We’re very blessed to be able to have this area to play baseball. We’re very appreciative that it’s beautiful and nice for them to play there,” Flaherty said.
Visit www.tcchallengerbaseball.com.