Green officials and community members celebrated the opening of a new sports field at Kleckner Park Wednesday. The field is designed to better fit the needs of kids with disabilities, officials said.
The Green Baseball Softball Federation has long had a baseball team for kids with disabilities, but the Challenger baseball team had to play and practice on dirt fields that made it hard for some kids with mobility issues to participate, Green Parks Planning and Development Administrator Mike Elkins said.
"Designed a little more thoughtfully than most, it's actually made with our kids in mind," Green Mayor Rocco Yeargin said, "and by removing barriers, it's designed to meet the kids where they're at, celebrating the uniqueness of the person and making limitation irrelevant."
Instead of dirt, the field is made of shorter turf and has inlaid bases to address maneuverability issues. The dugouts are also significantly larger than a typical field to accommodate additional needs for the players.
"This field sends a clear message. In Green, we don't leave anyone behind," Yeargin, whose daughter plays on the Challenger team, said. "We build space where everyone can thrive, where every child can take the field, feel the thrill of the game and know they belong."
The field will primarily be used by the Challenger program's baseball team for kids with disabilities, 5 and up, but the city hopes to expand its use, Elkins said.
"We're hoping with this field that we can invite other communities to Green to play on our adaptive field," he said.
Before the players took to the field to break it in with an inaugural game, they got a pep talk from Green native and former Major League Baseball outfielder David Lough.
"To the kids, this is your field," he said. "Play hard, dream big, respect the game, and always remember you belong right here."
And with that, the kids were off to play some baseball, with player Wyatt Phillips ending the first inning with a homerun, while the audience cheered on under the scorching June sun.
The park was funded by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the city of Green, the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, a nonprofit that bridges gaps for at risk youth, and the FirstEnergy Foundation.
