NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- There's a lot to like about being part of a baseball team. Players work hard to come together and battle for wins, but it goes far beyond results.
"The atmosphere," Norview sophomore infielder Landon Otero said of his favorite part of baseball. "When you go up to the plate and you hit a ball and you get on base, there's nothing better than that."
"Being around the team," added Pilots' junior catcher and third baseman Jay Leigh. "When we're up, we're up and when we're down, we're down, but those ups are probably the best times ever."
Friday saw the team band together to provide those ups to some of its peers. Norview hosted its annual Challenger Baseball Inning, giving students with physical, mental and intellectual handicaps the chance to experience the thrill of America's pastime- a freshly-raked field, the roar of the crowd and the crack of the bat. Students and teachers filled the bleachers at the baseball field and members of Norview's varsity team assisted the Challenger players as they stepped up to the plate and manned positions in the field.
This was year two of the event, which was created by Norview health and physical education teacher Mariah Stewart. Among her classes, Stewart teaches the adaptive physical education course and is also assistant coach for the baseball team.
"Last year it was just something I kind of threw together with some parents and the team," she recalled. "I was like 'can I do this please?,' and they're like 'yeah! Let's go!'"
"We're helping these kids learn how to play and play the sport I love," added Otero. "Teach them how to play and have fun."
That fun took center stage at Norview Friday afternoon. It was a great example of everybody coming together to provide the full baseball experience. The biggest takeaway were the smiles on everybody's faces, from the teachers to the baseball players to the adaptive athletes.
"Warming up with them, it was great," Leigh said. "There were a lot of smiles, everybody was running around, they were having a great time and I'm happy they get to have fun today."
"The pure joy that I see on their faces when they hit the ball," said Stewart of what she loves most about the day.
It's not just the adaptive players feeling that joy. It was evident that the Pilots themselves were enjoying their opportunity to make a difference in the lives of their classmates.
"Show their love of the game to other people," Stewart said of what the baseball players can take out of the experience. "Share their love of the game with other people that may not look like us, might not walk like us, might not talk like us, but they still love the game, too."
"I think it's good to help them come out here and have fun," Otero remarked. "They have a lot of questions they ask me and I give them a lot of tips in general about baseball or sports, so just helping them."
It was a fantastic scene of lending a helping hand through the game the Norview players love and doing their part to knock down any barriers that might keep their fellow students from stepping up and swinging away.
"Baseball can be played by anyone," said Leigh. "Anyone can learn it, anyone can play it. It doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter what you like to do, you can learn baseball."
"How much kids who aren't the same as us can be just like us," Otero added about what he hopes everybody takes away from the day. "Hopefully we can help them a lot."
"It doesn't matter who you are, what you're doing, but everyone has the same passion," Stewart pointed out. "Everyone loves baseball. Everyone wants to go to baseball and get a hot dog and yell 'play ball,' so why not do that here?"
There was noticeable growth from year one to year two of Norview's Challenger Inning and the Pilots are hoping that will continue into year three. Stewart has expressed interest in getting other schools involved, as well.
