Baseball league for the disabled starting in parish

Local children who are mentally or physically disabled may be eligible to participate in the St. Charles Recreation Department's Challenger Baseball League.

A meeting and registration will be held Monday at 6 p.m. at the East Regional Library off River Road in Destrehan.

For information, call Theresa Theriot at (985) 783-5090.

The Challenger division was established as a separate division of Little League to enable boys and girls with physical and mental disabilities, ages 5-18 or the completion of high school, to play baseball.

Teams are set up according to abilities, rather than age, and can include as many as 15-20 players.

Levels are T-ball, coach pitch and player pitch.

Each player will bat. The side is retired when the offense has batted through the roster, when a predetermined number of runs have been scored, or when three outs are recorded.

Little League recommends that no score be kept during games.

A benefit of having a Challenger division is that it encourages the use of buddies for the Challenger players, Theriot said.

The buddies assist the Challenger players on the field but whenever possible encourage the players to bat and make plays themselves. However, the buddy is always nearby to help when needed.