South Mississippi’s Buddy Ball baseball season in full swing
Fourteen seasons and still going strong! The ballfields at the Gulfport Sportsplex in north Harrison County are lit brightly on Wednesday nights as three groups of Buddy Ball baseball players take to the diamond to shine during game time!
Hosted by Mississippi Gulf Coast Buddy Sports (MGCBS), these games provide opportunities for local residents with special needs. The non-profit was established back in 2010 by executive director Mike Crawford and District 121 State Representative Carolyn Crawford so area youths and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and other special needs would have the opportunity to enjoy the sport of baseball.
And hundreds are doing just that, with record enrollment in this year’s Buddy Ball baseball games.
“Buddy Ball baseball, one of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Buddy Sports programs for youths and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and other special needs, kicked off their season on March 15 at the Gulfport Sportsplex,” says Mike Crawford, founder and executive director of Mississippi Gulf Coast Buddy Sports. “The league has eight teams with 140 players, and 100 volunteers playing on Wednesday nights.”
Buddy Ball baseball is played during March, April and May on Wednesday evenings at the Gulfport Sportsplex. The remaining games for this season are scheduled for April 23, 26 and May 3 and 10, with games starting at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. on fields 10 and 11 at the Gulfport Sportsplex, near the water park.
Plastic bats and soft foam balls are used to play this non-competitive recreational sport. There is no cost to play. All one needs to do to sign up is complete and submit an online registration form, available at MSGulfCoastBuddySports.org, during January or February before the Buddy Ball baseball season starts.
These and other games and leisure activities are available to our local community, thanks to the generous donations and time of local volunteers.
nine years of playing in Long Beach, the Buddy Ball program moved to
“This season is off to a great start with eighty- to ninety-percent of the players and volunteers showing up on a consistent basis,” Crawford says. “We are halfway through the season, which ends on May 10, and we are very happy with some positive growth changes that we implemented this year. We look forward to the remainder of the games and invite the community to come watch us play.”
Buddy Sports has grown over the years and now offers individuals with special needs the opportunity to participate in various sports and activities, such as kickball, near-shore charter boat fishing, canvas painting, horseback riding and a variety of social events. Through grants and sponsors, MGCBS provides all these recreational sports, including Buddy Ball baseball, and leisure opportunities at no cost to the participants or their families.
For more information, or to volunteer or donate, visit MSGulfCoastBuddySports.org or the group’s Buddy Ball Facebook page.
