Miracle League
What is the Miracle League
The Miracle League was formed in 1997 with its national headquarters located in Conyers, Georgia. Since then their great idea has spread throughout the United States to provide….
…… Hope, Determination and a display of Human Spirit that is unequaled. And of course there is baseball.
There is something about playing the game that lights up a youngster’s eyes. But for children with serious physical and intellectual disabilities that opportunity can often be difficult to achieve. Baseball diamonds were not exactly designed with wheelchairs, walkers and crutches in mind.
The Miracle League removes the barriers that keep children with disabilities off the baseball field and lets them experience the joy of America’s favorite pastime. Since the barrier for these children arise from the natural grass fields used in conventional youth league, Miracle League teams play on a custom-designed field with a rubberized surface that accommodates wheelchairs and other assisting devices while helping to prevent injuries.
But it’s more than playing a game. It is about making new friends, building self-esteem and being just like other kids.
America has a rich sports history but no sport is more intricately woven into our nations fabric than baseball. Baseball’s roots goes back to 1845 when the first recorded game was played in New Jersey. One hundred and sixty-five years later baseball remains “America’s pastime”
Many of us grew up playing baseball or softball. We played in organized leagues or pick-up games in the “sand lots.” We ran in the grass outfield to catch a fly ball and darted across the base paths trying to “touch them all.” What an exhilarating feeling that was! Now try to think of yourself in a wheelchair or walker trying to create that same feeling on a dirt and grass field that you cannot play on.
There are many children and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities who cannot enjoy the game because of the barriers a normal field presents. There are thousands of children in greater Northampton County who are not disabled who enjoy the game on fields in every community. However, there is not one field in the county that is designed for a child and adults with disabilities.
Ten years ago the first Miracle League field was built in Conyer, GA and today there are 250 in the nation and growing. The nearest field is the Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley located in northern Lehigh County. It is time to build this type of field in Northampton County.
The Facility Surface is Latex Free
In a letter to the editor in one of the local newspapers a resident of Northampton County questioned the use of latex in Surface America’s EverTop surface which is the field surface choice for the Miracle League field being built. The surface to be applied is 100% latex-free. Surface America and the surface type are approved by the National Headquarters of the Miracle League. Since the beginning of this project,
we have worked with the Miracle League Headquarters to be sure that we follow all of their specifications for the safety of the children who will be enjoying the experience of playing baseball on this field.
A Great Relationship Begins:
On July 28, 2011 we built the Board of Directors two people joined who really did not know each other and now they are the best of friends. Chuck Frantz is the president of the Lehigh Valley New York Yankees Fan Club and John Lahutsky, a graduate of Freedom High School, was also a devoted Yankees fan. In most situations, this would have been a bond created by being fans of the same baseball team. However, John was brought up much differently than the rest of us on the board. From the age of 18 months to the age of 9 years John spent his life in a Russian orphanage and asylum simply because he was born with cerebral palsy. John coauthored a book with Alan Philps titled “The Boy From Baby House 10” that told his story of the inhumane conditions in the Russian orphanage and asylum system that he went through in the development years of his life. That inhumane treatment stopped when he was adopted 12 years ago by his mom, Paula Lahutsky.
From the time that Chuck Frantz first met John a strong bond occurred. Not because both of them were Yankee fans but because Chuck is a special person. As a result, Chuck, working with the Yankees organization as they developed plans for this year’s HOPE week, was able to bring John’s story to their attention. The Yankee organization embraced John’s story and made him one of the honorees of HOPE week.
As part of the activities the Yankee organization arranged a reunion between John and Andrei Sullivan, his best friend at the orphanage who he had not seen since Andrei was adopted 14 years ago. At the Yankee game that evening John and Andrei threw out the first pitch.
As part of honoring of John the Yankees presented him with a check for $10,000 to be given to the charity of his choice. John has chosen the Miracle League of Northampton County as his charity.
In the picture MLNC President Ric Agretto accepts the check from John. Other board members attending the event are Bob Pruznick, Debbie Young (in the picture), and Bob Lammi.
The Board of Directors thanks the Yankees and John for this generous donation. We also thank one of our own, Chuck Frantz, for being the type of guy that the Miracle League is all about.