I received a note from Joe at the City of Surprise on the new Buddy Ball season that just got underway and he’s got over 74 athletes this year! 

That is just about 100% more than last year and very much within projections for a new league for the second full year of operation.

I also got to speak with Stephanie the other day and we have some new developments here at MLoAZ that are afoot – stay tuned for more details but suffice it to say it will mean a chance to move our mission forward.

She also informed me that the MLB Umpire Association has adopted Miracle League as a favored charity – we’ll see in the next few months what that will mean.

Lastly for this update, it looks like the YMCA in Maryvale is opening a Miracle League field! This is a great development – I am trying to get hold of the team over there to see if we can lend a hand.

Click here for 2007 Miracle League of Arizona Stakeholder Recruitment Drive Flyer

Click here for a 2007 Miracle League of Arizona Brochure

Miracle League of Arizona is interested in promoting special needs baseball, anywhere and anyway it is played in Arizona.

This means that if we can recommend City of Surprise Bambino Buddy Ball / Miracle League to an athlete, we’ll do so every time it is appropriate to do so. 

We’re doing so for the City of Phoenix in the Reach 11 facility as well and likewise, we’re interested in seeing a Miracle League of Arizona field built in North Scottsdale.  The Scottsdale Unified School District / the City of Scottsdale has already provided the land – it’s up to us to use it.

We’re first promoting the sport of baseball for the special needs community – and tonight at Dream Catcher Park, the reasons why came through. 

One of the athletes last year used crutches to move between the bases; this year he’s decided that the crutches are too much of a hindrance and has now, through sheer determination, begun running the bases on his own, without the use of crutches. 

His Dad has told me it’s what he said he wants to do, because of Miracle League – he wants to run the bases without the crutches.

Another athlete that has been with us since last season was always too shy to connect with players and coaches; now because of the socialization / interaction that sports promotes / allows / demands, she was just a little chatterbox tonight, talking to everyone and just beaming as she ran the bases. 

Her Mom commented on it tonight as they were leaving the field it was because her involvement in these programs.

I’m not sure I knew all the benefits that came out of Miracle League when we started years back, but I do now – these kids develop physically, mentally and socially because of their involvement. 

I’m proud to be a part of it.

We want you, as a supporter of Miracle League to add your voice to ours – sign-on as a stakeholder today; fill out the 2007 Miracle League of Arizona Stakeholder Recruitment Drive form and mail / fax it in, send us an email with your contact information (name, email address, phone, mailing, etc.)  We are asking that you allow us to count you among the supporters of special needs baseball in Arizona.

Donate if you can, share your time if you can; What we want right now is your heart – your voice, speaking in unison with ours when it comes to special needs baseball in Arizona.

Gene Udvare and I were able to visit yesterday with the outgoing Mayor of the City of Surprise, Mayor Joan Shafer and to make a small presentation to congratulate the city on their 2007 inaugural season, to thank her for the vision and support for special needs kids in the Valley of the Sun and for recognizing Miracle League of Arizona and our contribution to the effort.

Our understanding, and the way she told the story, is that it was the Mayors Office who initiated the plan to build Dream Catcher Park. 

Over five years and many discussions and debates in the city council chambers over funding and focus, it was the Mayors Office who carried the banner of the field forward to completion.  Dream Catcher Park is truly the crown-jewel of the special needs baseball network in Arizona.

Miracle League or Arizona had contact with the Mayors Office in the early stages of the projects development; it was the very same HBO video that launched a thousand leagues that launched this field development effort and it was the same interest in benefiting the special needs community that saw both efforts come to bear in the State of Arizona.

Miracle League of Arizona continues to promote special needs baseball in the state of Arizona and we’re happy to have recognized Mayor Shafer for her vision, her support and her dedication in seeing this field made into reality for the special needs community in the Northwest Valley.

The City of Phoenix has opened the Reach 11 fields!  Whaaahoooo!!!

This brings the number of adaptive fields in the State of Arizona to 3 and I hear there a re still a few more to come – the YMCA is building one and I know the East Valley Miracle League is also working on one.

I was honored part of the crowd at the Grand Opening Dedication with about 100 other people and the reception was great.  I was inspired by the comments of Rich Dozier, Brandon Webb and Chad Tracy – each had a field named for them in the complex; the fourth field was named ‘Partner Field’ in honor of the organizations and people who support the Diamondbacks in their field building program – now at 26 statewide and growing!

As the ribbon was cut and the fans flowed into the facility, a group of players ran on to Partner Field and took up an impromptu game. 

The sign-up process to play on these fields is different than just filling out a form and mailing, faxing or dropping them off.  Athletes and Buddies may register online or in-person at any of these locations -

• Beuf Community Center
• Deer Valley Community Center
• Desert West Community Center
• Devonshire Senior Center
• Longview Neighborhood Recreation Center
• Mountain View Community Center
• Paradise Valley Community Center
• South Mountain Community Center
• Sunnyslope Community Center
• Washington Activity Center

A brochure is downloadable here.

Today s the big day for the fields at the City of Phoenix Reach 11 Recreation Area.  I’m headed out as a guest to the festivities – stay tuned for pics!

Did you know that Miracle League of Arizona is now three years old?  Did you know that 1997 was the year Miracle League national was begun? and lastly, did you know that there are now over 100 fields under construction in the US with the Miracle League name?

These are the numbers of Miracle League, as we have come to them – we believe every kid has the right to participate in the great American Past Time of Baseball and we’ll do all we can to support the development and use of facilities that support that mission.

Here is a link to our most recent informational piece – Miracle League by the Numbers

Technorati Tags: miracle+league, special+needs, baseball, athletics, community, arizona

Social media is a new way to connect communities, both on the web and off. It is an Internet-based tactic, to be sure, but by connecting online as well as off, we share more of ourselves and what makes us a community. 

The most popular tool for connecting in an online social network is called Facebook, you may have read something about it recently.  Membership in Facebook is at no charge at all; it is free to anyone who wishes to join.

With that introduction, I will invite you all to the Miracle League of Arizona group on Facebook.  It’s a place to connect in a new way, extend our community beyond the usual and to find out more about each other as we share ourselves, our experiences and our ideas for baseball in the special needs community here in Arizona.

I work professionally in social media and it’s application to business, so setting up this group was a natural for me.  I’ve recently been asked to examine how social media can be used in the non-profit realm as well, so this is one of the ways I find out how it works.

Here is the link – welcome to the social side of the Internet!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5600966476

The 2007-2008 season is almost upon us and we know the athletes cannot hardly wait!

Last seasons inaugural season was a great turning point for the special needs community in Arizona – the City of Surprise opened the first ever baseball field and Miracle League of Arizona was proud to be a part of it from opening day through closing ceremonies and every practice and game in between.

Our mission is to support special needs baseball in the state of Arizona.  We would like every special needs baseball program to be Miracle League branded, but we recognize that the important aspect of what we do is support the development of the athletes and the community that comes together around baseball.

The City of Surprise has announced open registration for the next season (click here to visit the registration page) and while we do not yet have any details, we are expecting to hear from the City of Phoenix on the opening of the Reach 11 facility sometime in September.

Here are a few picture from the Phoenix facility taken just a few days ago.

Today I received an article from Parks and Recreation Business Magazine article on Dreamcatcher Park at the City of Surpise. They do use a quote from Miracle League of Arizona and attribute the idea to the national Miracle League Association and we’re grateful for being able to particpate in the inaugural season with them.

Congratulations to the whole team at City of Surprise – you have a lot to be proud of!

…the sounds, the smells and the kids…

Pictures of the athletes from the 2007 City of Surprise Memorial Day Parade.