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| Wednesday, Mar 21 2007 10:30 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Mar 21 2007 10:35 PM
Have you ever seen angels in the infield?
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Tim Terrio of Terrio Therapy-Fitness Inc. is launching a sports league for youngsters who usually have to watch from the sidelines as others play.
Terrio says kids with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, higher-functioning autism and other special needs should know what it's like to be on a ball field, to feel the sun on their faces, to experience being part of a team.
Dubbed the League of Dreams, Terrio and his team of physical and occupational therapists will start with T-ball -- or a modified version of the sport that all kids will be able to play. Each child will be assigned a volunteer "angel" to push their wheelchairs or guide them down baselines. These angels in the infield may need to help with fielding the ball or throwing -- or just offer encouragement.
"I just want parents to see their kids in a different light -- to change their mentality, even if it's for one hour," Terrio said. "Luckily, I'm not in a position where I have to ask permission. My approach is to say, 'Let's just do it,' not 'Let's just talk about it.'"
Wendi Wanner, a pediatric occupational therapist who works with Terrio, said the league will offer youngsters physical benefits -- and so much more.
"We will offer parents the opportunity to be coaches, to be team moms," Wanner said. "Many have never had that opportunity."
There are social benefits, emotional benefits and maybe most important of all, benefits involving self-esteem and simple personal dignity, she said.
On Saturday, the league will hold tryouts, "in quotation marks," Terrio said. In reality, it will give the team of professionals the chance to assess the strengths and limitations of each athlete.
"We will adapt the sport to the child," Wanner said.
Tracey Van Etten, whose son, Austin, turns 6 next month, was the first to sign up. Austin was born premature at 25 weeks and was diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Van Etten thought he would never have the chance to play organized ball.
"He's pretty much a loner most of the time," she said. "But this will give him a chance to interact with other kids. So this will be good for him."
As Austin's "angel," his mom says her job will be getting him to run in the right direction and convincing him to stay on base until it's time to run again.
"He's very impatient," she said, laughing.
But it's not only Austin who will have to learn new ways to be in the world. As the loving and protective mother of a child with special needs, Van Etten freely admits she will have to work at letting Austin "just be a boy."
"That's what I'm trying to teach myself to do," she said. "It isn't easy."
To volunteer as an "angel" or to make an appointment for sign-ups this Saturday, call Terrio Therapy-Fitness at 377-1700.