Special Teams Take Field
Buddy Ball pairs players with helpers.
At first glance, the soccer game looks like any other. Smiling children, dressed in uniforms and shin guards, fill the field behind Woodrow Wilson School in Edison. Along the sidelines, parents sit in lawn chairs, cheering for their children. Occasionally, a referee blows a whistle to stop play. But then you notice that the field also is crowded with teen-agers, or “buddies” who are helping the children play. And the goals are tended by two children, standing with the aid of walkers.
This is Edison Buddy Ball, a unique athletic organization that was formed in 1993 to give children with any special need a chance to participate in a variety of sports. Offerings include soccer, baseball, basketball, and bowling. The program was inspired by a young boy in need of a wheelchair. Leonard Stein, president emeritus of Buddy Ball, was involved in the North Edison Baseball League at the time. As the league prepared for an oldies concert to raise money to pave a parking lot, Stein heard an announcement on Franklin-based radio station WCTC about another fund-raising effort – for a wheelchair. Stein was moved by the story and convinced the league to donate some of the concert proceeds toward the wheelchair. The baseball league also invited the youngster to the concert, where they gave him a trophy from the league. “It occurred to me that it might be the only trophy he’ll ever get,” Stein recalled.
The seeds of Buddy Ball began to take root. Stein brought the idea for a league for special needs children to the attention of the president of North Edison Baseball. In 1993, Buddy Ball was formed. Organizers recruited teen-age volunteers to be buddies for the children and persuaded some parents to become coaches.
Edison Policeman’s Benevolent Association Local 75 and the Edison Elks joined the effort by raising money to buy team uniforms and equipment, enabling children to join up without any cost to their families.
The Edison PBA, a staunch supporter of Buddy Ball since the leagues inception, stepped things up a notch this past year. It sponsored an All-Star baseball game, pitting officers against the Buddy Ball team. The event drew more than 250 people. “We wanted to do more than just hand over a check,” said Alan Engel, PBA president. The All-Star game began with a Buddy Ball cheerleader singing the National Anthem, and featured a special touch – announcing each child’s name over the public address system. The PBA, which also provided refreshments for the crowd, topped it off by giving the children a huge trophy. But the children had a surprise of their own for the PBA by giving the officers a “Best Buddy” trophy that each child had signed. “Everyone felt good at the end of the day,” Engel said. “My guys can’t wait to do it again next year.”
After two years with North Edison Baseball, Buddy Ball had become so popular that its founders decided to incorporate the organization. Next month will mark the group’s first anniversary as an independent entity. Nearly 100 children registered for the program this year, enabling adults to field six baseball teams, four soccer teams and a basketball program. Those numbers don’t include the 40 teen-agers who are buddy volunteers. Kevin Speckin, the buddies’ coordinator, said that, ideally, there is one buddy for each child at every game. “Our first priority is safety,” Spekin said. “The teams are grouped by skill level, not necessarily by age level, so we want to make sure a child is not run over by a bigger kid.”
The buddies also speak up to make sure the children they are paired with each gets a chance to kick the ball, even if that means setting up the ball for the player over and over. All the patience and enthusiasm of the buddies, spectators and players pays off in big dividends. When a goal is scored, the cheers and high-fives are bounteous. At a recent soccer game, Jean Deluca sat next to an empty wheelchair while she watched her 7-year-old daughter, Lynne Ganley, tend goal from her walker. Lynn was born with cerebral palsy, a disorder of the central nervous system that affects her motor skills. “Soccer is a big deal with kids,” Deluca said. “Her older sister plays and her father is a soccer coach. This gives Lynn an outlet to play. It’s really important to have a uniform and she thinks it’s cool to be wearing shin guards.”
Ellis Motin, one of the organization’s seven founders, has attended games every weekend for the past three years. He noted that the league has hosts of unsung heroes. “You read so many negative things about teen-agers, but you come visit us any Saturday and you’ll see some great teen-agers who don’t just take, they give back,” he added.
[This article is based, in part, on an article published in the Home News Tribune in 1996.]