Challenger League returns to Fairfield

After a few years without a coach, Fairfield is getting their Challenger League back with free registration open now for kids 'with special needs of all abilities between the ages of 4-22,” according to the flyer Lisa and her husband Josh Phillips have been distributing around town to help fill the roster for the team's first season back after a short hiatus.

'We had a league for several years, but we've missed the last few with no coach,” explained Lisa. 'We love baseball and my older son Brody plays for the Cougars and my youngest Blake will play t-ball again and since my daughter Taylor hasn't had a place to play, we thought we would get something going.”

Taylor has Cerebral Palsy and is a quadriplegic, which means all four limbs are affected and she uses a wheelchair to get around and a walker for shorter distances. Taylor also uses a communication devise to speak along with sign language.

'She's a smart girl,” said Lisa. 'She just doesn't have a body that works very well when she tells it what to do. She's super competitive just like her brother.”

With the help of her friend Janel Orgovanyi, whose daughter Dorotae previously played in the Challenger League, Lisa and Josh talked to local Little League president, Brad Boatman, who was on-board with the Phillips' desire to 'give all of the kids the chance to play.”

Phillip's adds that Boatman and the board have been 'phenomenal” in working together and now she just needs to get more players and get the team together and see what their needs are.

'There are flat bats and beeping balls and a lot of things to help kids,” explained Lisa. 'We'll see what the players need and then we might be looking for donations for adaptive equipment. We want to keep growing each year and acquire more adaptive equipment so regardless of our athletes each season, we will have what they need.”

Lisa played team sports in high school and took a lot from that and wants all kids to have that experience.

'They want opportunities just like their classmates and their peers, but a lot of those opportunities aren't out there. The world moves really fast and a lot of the times kids don't have the opportunity, but if you give them a chance to experience those joys, you'll see them playing baseball in it's truest form, for love of the game and we want to give them the opportunity to do that.”

As for Taylor, 'She goes to so many baseball games and she loves it,” said Phillips. 'We spend family time together, but actually getting to play the game is a whole other experience and you want all of your kids to experience that. The joy of being on a team and hitting the ball and running the bases and doing it on your own instead of just watching and I think it's important to give all kids that opportunity no matter what their ability is.”

The Challenger League will play 5-6 games from the second week of May through June 7 with most games on Friday night, although the first few weeks may be played earlier in the week due to Camp Courageous.

If you have a child who would like to register or you would like to volunteer your time or make a donation for equipment, you can contact Josh and Lisa Phillips at lisa-phillips@hotmail.com or by calling 641-919-0114.