By Lisa Parent

Diverse community brought together through shared love of baseball

Jun 9, 2023 | 4:23 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Through the power of sports, a local baseball team is uniting individuals of diverse backgrounds on the field.

The Challengers Baseball Team is a Medicine Hat Adaptive Sports program. Every Thursday night, volunteers and little leaguers gather to play ball with children who have mental and physical disabilities.

The challengers baseball program is run by volunteers Derek Whitson and Tara Chisholm. Derek Whitson has a disability that didn’t stop him from playing baseball as a kid, but he recognized that not all kids had that same opportunity before the adaptive program existed.

“We have such a great community. I grew up with a disability myself, cerebral palsy, and I was fortunate enough that I played within minor league ball. But there were no opportunities for anyone else that I knew that had a disability that would have that same opportunity,” Whitson says.

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The program has been in operation for about seven years, but just recently collaborated with little league teams to have 10 and 11 year olds helping out.

Young volunteer Tyler Odland has been a part of Adaptive Sport programs himself, in both sledge hockey and wheelchair basketball. Seeing the need for volunteers in the baseball program, he quickly lended a hand.

“In the start I’m just helping them try and get warmed up and catch, and then help them get set up at the base and back-catch for them,” Odland states.

Alex Dudley is also a volunteer with the program, and her kids play on the Challenger team. Dudley says the program allows her kids to develop their independence and make friends.

“Oh it’s amazing, the sense of independence they get to kind of step away from their parents and have a buddy support them instead of a parent really is just something you can’t mimic anywhere else. So to see that confidence from them grow and the independence, as well as learning a new skill, it’s really awesome,” Dudley says.

But Derek Whitson says this program doesn’t just benefit the Challenger kids, but the community as a whole.

“We just want to continue to grow the game and have an all-inclusive opportunity for, not only people with disabilities, but people that are considered able-bodied to come together, to showcase that they can play the game together and share pretty cool moments,” Whitson says.

Golf, Cycling and Boccia are also sports offered by Medicine Hat Adaptive Sports this summer.