Some Special Needs Kids Learn Baseball From Big Leaguers

Students from The Children's Guild taking part in League of Dreams at Camden Yards. Credit: Anne Kramer

It was a special day for some special needs children at Camden Yards earlier this month.

League of Dreams hosted a baseball clinic for about forty students from The Children's Guild School of Baltimore and The Children's Guild Academy.

Students were invited to Oriole Park and spent hours learning how to catch fly balls, hit from home plate, hit off a tee and take in all that is the game of baseball.

Frank Kolarek played in the minor league and started help children with disabilities early on in his life. He then founded League of Dreams.

Kolarek says the organization has provided baseball clinics and opportunities for more than 4,000 children across the country with the help of 5,000 volunteers.

The students from The Children's Guild suffer from a wide range of emotional and developmental disabilities, and some adjustments were made to help them navigate the activities.

"Out of the League of Dreams program, it gives them a chance that they belong anywhere any kid belongs. The game is out platform. So it brings children together who normally wouldn't come together," Kolarek says.

Orioles outfielder and first baseman Trey Mancini was on hand to help the kids. He says getting involved with League of Dreams was a no-brainer for him.

One student said he just listened to what the coaches told him and hit the ball as hard as he could. He then said he wanted to be a baseball and football player when he gets older.

Mancini said he was going to give the kids some pointers if they needed it but the whole day was about having fun.

For some of the students, school officials say this was likely their first field trip. It is a chance to be more social.

Kelly Spanoghe is with The Children's Guild and was on hand for all the activities. She said this is a wonderful opportunity for the children to practice the excitement, anxiety and fear of failing as well as taking risks.

Kolarek believes when the children leave a League of Dreams event, they feel better about themselves and their classmates.