Event brings softball to people with disabilities

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

alcorn@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

It was a softball game filled with laughter and the usual banter.

“Hey, batter, batter. Swing, batter, batter.”

But played in sports wheelchairs by physically disabled athletes ranging from age 11 to middle age, joined by some family members and event organizers on the Covelli Centre blacktop parking lot early Tuesday evening, no one kept score and no one seemed to care.

The wheelchair softball event is the first of four games offered by the Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio, in conjunction with the Youngstown Park & Recreation Department, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays in August in the Covelli parking lot.

The program is open to anyone with a primary physical disability and is not restricted to those who use wheelchairs. There is no charge, and equipment is provided.

“It went well. We’d like to see more people out here. Everyone had fun,” said Cara Hahn, ASPO program manager for Mahoning County and pitcher for the game. For program information, call Hahn at 330-207-9138.

“We’re trying to build interest and participation,” said Hahn, former program and events coordinator for Mill Creek MetroParks.

The sports wheelchairs used in the game were provided by ASPO, which also offers through the year competitive sled hockey, which is free for the first session, $200 for the season and $100 for the season if a participant is in another sport, said Hahn.

Among physically disabled participants were Liston Spann, 44, of Youngstown, who was shot in a drive-by in 1992; and Kevin Glines, 37, of Boardman, and Jayden Brown, 11, of Youngstown, both of whom were born with spina bifida.

Spann said he has practiced wheelchair softball in the past and played basketball and sled hockey.

“They are all fun, and it gives me a chance to get out and see people,” he said.

“He loves this stuff. He loves wheelchair basketball and softball,” said Thomas Glines of his son, Kevin, who pointed his bat a la Babe Ruth when he predicted and produced a home run in the 1932 World Series.

“These activities keep him busy and healthy and involved in things. That’s the idea,” said the elder Glines.

Charitter Brown of Youngstown brought her twin sons, Jayden Brown, born with spina bifida, and Jordan, who is not afflicted, both of whom participated in wheelchairs.

“Jayden has fun, and Jordan gets to experience what his brother goes through all the time,” their mother said.

The Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization established to promote the health and wellness of individuals with physical and visual disabilities through competitive and recreational adaptive sport opportunities across Ohio. ASPO has moved to 100 Kurzen Road North, Suite B, Dalton, Ohio. Its telephone number is 330-985-0085.