MORGANTOWN — About in the middle of Mylan Park, sits Miracle Field.
That’s where Matthew “Speedy” Nestor hit a homerun this week and rounded the bases in his wheelchair.
Nestor plays baseball for the Flying Eagles in Stepping Stones’ Minor League Baseball organization.
Three levels of competition are held at Miracle Field: T-ball, Minor League and Major League. Games are held weekly for 10 weeks — May through July at the Miracle Sports Complex, providing organized baseball for children with physical and developmental disabilities. The field has a custom-designed rubber surface in the outfield as well as the infield. This allows easy access for wheelchairs and walking devices. Also, the bases are flat to the ground so they don’t get in the way of athletes on the move.
Kim Walls, recreation coordinator at Stepping Stones, said the organization does year-round recreation for children and adults with disabilities.
“You pretty much name the sport or activity, and we offer it at some point,” Walls said.
That includes things like basketball, baseball, golf, as well as cooking classes, dances and parties.
This year, 103 players are signed up to play baseball, but that’s just a few of the 1,000 athletes who participate in one Stepping Stones activity or another, according to Walls.
Walls also said the league is always looking for baseball buddies and volunteers to help out.
“We have a mailing that we do, we send out a calendar that has all of our upcoming programs, and then we’ll get them an application and kind of get them going — find something that they’re interested in and is a good match for everyone,” she said.
This week, Stepping Stones also held an Empathy Dinner, hosting 40 high school students in the 2018 West Virginia Governor’s School for Entrepreneurship. They got the chance to step into the role of someone with a disability. The dinner was meant to bring awareness and understanding, as well as discussion and empathy to those with a disability. After dinner, the participants walked over to Miracle Field to watch a baseball game.
