Register for Buddy Baseball
Buddy Baseball is a sports program that provides opportunities for athletes with intellectual and physical disabilities to participate in America's favorite sport.
Each player is given a "buddy" to play with them. The buddies are there to assist the player, not play the game for them.
The Red River Valley Down Syndrome Society teamed up with the Breakfast Optimist Club of Paris in 2006 to start the area's first baseball league for youth with disabilities. The program began as an outlet for many of the children with Down syndrome in the community to play an organized sport, to promote physical activity and dexterity, and to feel like other children who play the game. Now played in the spring with the other divisions of Dixie Youth baseball at Woodall Field in Paris, it is open to all area individuals with disabilities who wish to participate.
Benefits:
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Physical Activity
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Socialization
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Improved self-esteem
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Opportunity to mainstream into other divisions of play
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Opportunity to learn the fundamentals of baseball including teamwork and sportsmanship
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Acceptance as an athlete rather than a child with a disability