Poplar Bluff Buddy Ball has seen big successes in its first five years, and the program is about to grow even more with the launch this spring of an adult league.
“We’re super excited. We’ve been wanting to do this for a little while, and we kept making plans,” said Buddy Ball board president Alex Tinker.
Buddy Ball began more than five years ago when Sonya Osborn got the idea for a sports league for persons with mental and physical developmental disabilities while visiting her hometown.
She pitched the idea to a few friends in Poplar Bluff, and with the blessing of the Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation Department, the baseball league began.
The organization’s motto, Tinker said, is “The game’s the same … just different.”
During Buddy Ball games, each team gets to bat twice and field hits twice, giving the players the chance to participate in a game they normally wouldn’t be able to.
“Buddy Ball is all about them being the stars,” said Tinker.
The original league, Tinker said, was for those ages 8 to 21, but beginning this spring, there will be two age groups.
A younger league for players ages 8 through high school will play, and a second league for older players aged high school and older will hit the fields separately.
The idea, Tinker said, came after former players, now coaching assistants, were allowed to take a few swings and hit a baseball before and after games, even though they had aged out of the program.
The new league, she said, will bring them back to a team atmosphere.
“I think it will really be good for them to be able to be back on a team because they enjoyed that,” she said.
Besides offering a bit of normalcy in their daily lives, Tinker said, Buddy Ball also serves the parents of the players.
“It’s also for parents to build a support group because they feel isolated, and when you have other parents going through some of the same challenges, you know how to offer support,” she said.
Game dates for the coming season, Tinker explained, have not been set yet, but she expects sign-ups to take place in April and a five-game season to run roughly from mid-May to mid-June.
“We’re still going to have games on Tuesday nights, and we’re going to keep them at Whiteley Park, just because it’s a little bit more accessible to everybody,” Tinker said.
Games now will take place at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to avoid the 5 p.m heat experienced in previous years.
Besides baseball games, Tinker noted, the Buddy Ball board is looking at expanding offerings for its participants.
“We’re not only looking at another team for Buddy Ball for baseball, but we’re looking at opportunities to maybe where once a quarter we do some kind of activity together like going to the movies or going to the coliseum,” she said.
Those activities, she said, will enhance a feeling of belonging and teamwork for the players.
What is badly needed, Tinker noted, is volunteers to be buddies at the games.
Many previous buddies have moved on to other things, leaving a shortage.
If anyone is interested in volunteering, Tinker said, they may get in contact with the board through the P.B. Buddy Ball Facebook page or by calling her at 573-429-2742.