A youth league baseball coach in McFarland is working to expand access to sports for children and young adults with disabilities in a community where representation for youth with special needs often goes underrepresented.
The Challengers division is divided into two teams, Bee Strong and Brave Bears, and serves players ages 4 to 22 with physical, developmental, and intellectual disabilities. Maria Diaz, a parent of three special-needs children, recognized the lack of sports inclusion after moving from Fresno to McFarland and ultimately decided to start the program.
“We moved from Fresno to McFarland. We do have three kids with autism, so they wanted to play…We couldn’t find any sports near us. I searched online, I asked my neighbors…And everybody was just saying no. What about Delano? It’s not even that far, and they were like ‘no, if you want to play, you have to go all the way to Bakersfield,’” said Diaz.
Bakersfield offers some adaptive sports programs, but Diaz said those leagues often have waiting lists, meaning her children were not guaranteed a spot even if they enrolled.
“If I had to do the drive of hour and a half, I would for them. But then I’m like, this is home now. This is where we decided to live. This is the house we decided to buy for us. So I said, why not do it here,” said Diaz.
The path to establishing the program was not without it’s trials and tribulations. Before launching the league, Diaz went door to door in her neighborhood seeking participants but found limited interest, leading her to briefly consider giving up.
“It all started with me knocking door to door….A lot of people didn’t answer… Maybe God doesn’t want this, maybe I’m just not in the right spot and I just gave up in that moment,” said Diaz. “We’ll just put it on Facebook Marketplace, so we did that like an hour later, I got my first phone call and it was amazing,” continued Diaz.
Choosing to begin the multi-sport program with baseball was a conscious decision in order to aid each player and allow them their own opportunity in the spotlight, and Diaz has observed significant milestones for both her children and other players in the program.
“They didn’t want to do it, Dad would always hold the glove, Dad would always hold the bat for him to hit it, but to date in a total of six practices and two games, he is hitting the ball by himself. He’s holding the bat up there by himself, he is not wearing his ear muffles any more,” mentioned Diaz about one of the boys on the team.
Diaz also mentioned that the growth for the children in this program also included social development that is often difficult for children on the autism spectrum.
“Even communication, just initiating conversations with other kids, it’s just a big thing. Especially in the autism spectrum, it’s like they want to be alone. They don’t want to talk, they just kind of like their own little world, but they have. They’ve opened their heart to other kids,” said Diaz.
The City of McFarland also played a key role in the program’s establishment by waiving fees for the use of the Blanco Park baseball field, helping keep participation costs low.
“I feel like McFarland has so many people that have so much to give, and they just don’t have that opportunity to show that they are really good people here. It reminds me of the McFarland movie, it really does, because you know how the community came together for Blanco and his family, and it’s like it’s not just a movie. I’m literally living in the moment right now. I can just see so many people coming together and helping the Challengers,” said Diaz.
The team, supported by coaches, parents, volunteers, and community members, continues to grow. Diaz hopes to expand the program in the future to include indoor soccer, basketball, and other sports, creating more opportunities for the special needs community to participate in organized athletics.
For more information on how to sign up or receive updates, visit the program’s Instagram page @specialneedssports_mcfarland.
