So “OUR” Big Day in San Dimas went off with only one “hitch”…
Our older division was unable to play our 2 inning round robin. We will scrimmage in practice this Wed.! The younger division had their chance and they took it!! Lora Mancini reported to me it was great!” THEY ALL STAYED IN THEIR POSITIONS!” lol… So FUN! Unfortunately I was unable to witness that! The teams also had 2 chances to bat! Some players can take a pitch, while others will use the tee. PERFECT for our Players! So glad to hear they had fun! First games …THIS SATURDAY!!
The Opening Ceremony was Awesome…Jay Johnstone gave a very inspirational speech and threw out the 1st pitch! The league President Tim Roe also gave a nice speech with several special things to say about the “A-LEAGUE“! Wyatt’s teammate and my “How’s your Heart?” friend Kevin Parker recited the little league pledge! Chills and goosebumps a plenty!
They even had a raffle. Each manager passed out tickets to the players. When they called out the 1st number for the “A-league”…what do you know!? Wyatt was the WINNER! That was his favorite part of the day running into home plate with me encouraging him every step! The crowd cheering and his chirping laughter…my eyes are tearing up as I recall it!
San Dimas Little League is enjoying learning about their autistic players…and they are a quick study!
The A-league teams were not made to wait…and were placed at the 1st base area which could not have been better! With the large crowd and all the excitement our kids FIT RIGHT IN! It was truly awesome. I feel such gratitude to ALL THAT HAVE MADE THIS OUR REALITY!!
So after the opening the fun continued League sponsors had booths. Autism Spectrum Therapies gave away nice tote bags & piggy shapped stress squeezers, which were a big hit! They are a great resource located right here in my current hometown …Monrovia Cal. www.autismtherapies.com I sat and spoke with all that would listen about Autism! So many wonderful adults and children. So many stories and points of view! Very interesting indeed…this AUTISMHWY!!!
After a few hours , Wyatt was ready to leave with his Grandmother Louise. He enjoyed having both of us at the field with him. I am very lucky to have my Mother’s support with Wyatt. Extended family members really “step-up” for our kids! So they left and I got my “paint kit” out …my ruse. The night before I had decided to paint out some “FUN-FACTS.” Little KNOWN but obvious facts about AUTISM. Did you know that …autistic people can’t filter out sounds?! Did you know that the brains are wired differently?! etc…etc…ETC. I had decided that I would paint faces while I talked to them about AUTISM!
So, I sat there painting …cute little cheeks, forearms and hands with baseballs, hearts, Angels-A’s,NY logos etc… It was so comical when I told them that I would paint their face for free! ” FOR FREE ?”…is what I would hear them say in DISBELIEF. So funny! The little looks as they ran off to check with their Mom’s, if it was okay to get” SOMETHING FOR NOTHING”! Well ladies and gentlemen WE ALL KNOW …everything has a price.
Let me see … I have this ability to attract this crowd and I have a very TIMELY MESSAGE ! Hmmmm…GUESS WHAT? My afternoon was all about “AUTISM 1.” I will add, the 01 on…way down the road! Such a good start it was though! The kids I encountered this weekend were very receptive, polite and caring! I was so happy to see such cool kids! They all are aware of the A-League . Some knew about autism while others were happy to stop and learn about it! I could not have been MORE IMPRESSED!! Some of these youngsters are in the Buddy program. Those buddies are the mentors we will NEED!
The Friends we will ALL NEED as we travel on the AUTISMHWY!