Of the thousands of youth baseball and softball games played throughout Naperville this spring and summer, four in particular stand out as a bit more extraordinary than the others.
For four Sundays this month, Naperville boys and girls ages 8 to 15 with disabilities are enjoying an opportunity to play baseball together, in many cases for the first time ever. The practices and games are part of the Challenger program, a pilot effort Naperville Little League is sponsoring this summer in the hope of adding it as a permanent offering in the future.
“(The Challenger program) has been kind of dead in the Naperville area for the last seven or eight years,” said Mike Zagurski, a Metea Valley High School graduate and a special education major at Illinois State University. Naperville Little League appointed Zagurski as the Challenger coordinator this summer. “We’re bringing it back and we’re looking to really have this be an event that starts to be a tradition in Naperville.
“This is our summer to kind of get it out and show what we’re about, how we’re going to go about doing things and introduce people to our vision for the program and how we see this playing. Five years from now, we think this can definitely be something that can stick and that the community can really love and enjoy.”
On game days, about 15 registered Challenger players gather at one of the Nike Sports Complex baseball fields and are paired up with players from the Majors division of Naperville Little League, the program’s highest-level division. The Majors players, who’ve numbered anywhere from roughly 20 to 40 at the three games thus far, work with the Challenger players in pre-game practices and assist them on the field during the games. Last weekend’s game was rained out, but the last of this summer’s four scheduled games will be held at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Nike.
John SanFilippo has coached his two sons in baseball for 15 years. Now, because of Challenger, he has the opportunity to do the same for his 15-year-old daughter Alyssa, who has Down syndrome. Naturally, one of her buddies has been her 13-year-old brother Alex, who just finished his final season of Little League Baseball.
“I don’t care who you are, to have both kids playing together is always awesome,” SanFilippo said. “Alex is great with Alyssa, still a little brother of course, but all in all a great friend and protector. I love that he gets a chance to be involved and model to the other boys how to have fun with it. But I’ve only had him buddy with Alyssa once to make sure he got to experience it with other kids, and he’s loved it.”
Zagurski, who also works as a Naperville Little League umpire, and SanFilippo are just two of the many volunteers who make the Challenger program possible. But their involvement together came about as part of a chance conversation, SanFilippo said.
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“Mike was one of the umpires for Alex’s games a lot,” he said. “We tended to talk a lot in between innings, and one day I was bragging on Alyssa getting gold in the Special Olympics. He hadn’t known I had a daughter with Down syndrome.
“At that point he mentioned the Challenger league and what he was doing. Alyssa loves baseball so I said I’d join her up. Then Mike asked me if I wanted to be involved. He liked my approach with the boys and now knowing I had a daughter with DS it seemed a good fit. I said yes because I enjoy coaching kids, and here we are three weeks in.”
Zagurski says he’s been touched by how the program has been received thus far.
“I’ve gotten a few emails from parents already saying they never thought they’d have the opportunity to see their child step on a baseball field in a uniform and play an organized game of baseball,” Zagurski said. “It’s a really special feeling. I’m really glad we’re having a good impact on the community. And the same goes for the volunteers, I’ve had parents of the (Majors players) and the kids themselves talk about how wonderful it was to have their child have the opportunity to interact with children with disabilities and how some of them are never exposed to scenarios and situations like this.
“It’s been a very educational and very positive experience for all.”
Like Zagurski, SanFilippo also hopes to see the program grow to be permanently chartered with Little League International in partnership with NLLB.
“The difference in this program versus others we’ve been a part of is the focus on the game and skill,” he said. “A lot of times it tends to become a bit of a spectator sport waiting to hit the ball with little actual field play. Mike and I agreed that where there is room to build skill, it should be part of the program to grow that skill.
“Now, it’s a tall order with the obvious differential in skill levels, but I think we’ve done a good job of engaging the players and buddies in a way that will foster that growth. And I’ll be a part of it as long as my time allows. It’s been very rewarding so far.”
Not to mention the opportunity to coach his daughter. What has that meant to him?
“It’s hard enough for a dad to stay involved in his daughter’s life sometimes even without DS,” SanFilippo said. “So, the answer to your question is, the world.”
And when asked her favorite part of the Challenger program, Alyssa’s answer was an easy one.
“Playing baseball like Alex,” she said. “It’s awesome.”
Rob Manker is a freelance writer who lives and parents in Naperville.
Twitter: @RobManker