Southwest Michigan Miracle League
The Miracle League provides a safe and fun environment where kids with disabilities can enjoy themselves and experience the camaraderie of playing baseball in a field all their own.
The Miracle League removes the barriers that keep children with mental and physical disabilities off the baseball field and lets them experience the joy of America’s favorite pastime.
Come join us.
The Game
Our mission is to provide opportunities for kids, regardless of their abilities, to compete and experience the joy and benefits that come from playing sports.
About the Miracle League
A Miracle League Field lets kids with disabilities – both boys and girls – enjoy themselves and experience the camaraderie of playing baseball in a field all their own. A Miracle League Field is a custom-designed field with a cushioned, rubberized surface to help prevent injuries, wheelchair accessible dugouts, and a completely flat surface to eliminate any barriers to wheelchair users or visually impaired players. The Miracle League also uses a special ball that is bigger and softer than a traditional baseball. The Miracle League is open to kids aged 5-19 whose physical or mental abilities are better served by the specialized playing field and rules of play that the Miracle League provides. The Miracle League provides many benefits to kids with disabilities:
- A break from their everyday challenges and barriers, allowing them to relax, have fun and be a kid.
- The joy of playing baseball, America’s favorite pastime, and being outside and active.
- The camaraderie of being on a team and making new friends.
- The opportunity to build self-esteem and confidence and move outside their comfort zone.
In 2020, we completed the first phase of the Southwest Michigan Miracle Field in Schoolcraft, Michigan, to serve the southwest Michigan area. The Miracle Field will bring together everyone in the community and give them a chance to enjoy playing baseball and having fun. Our field is an inclusive field. Everyone is welcome, regardless of their abilities, and there’s a role for everyone here.
If you know of a kid aged 5-19 who would like to play, or if you’re interested in volunteering, please visit our registration site to learn more and sign up. Now we move into the next phase of fundraising. Although we’ve built the Miracle Field, we have more work to do: adding more parking, installing lights, landscaping the property around the field, and so much more. We also want to support the players and teams that will enjoy our field and are looking for league, team and player sponsors.
Miracle League History
The Miracle League is a nonprofit organization that has been around for over 20 years.
The first Miracle League field opened in Conyers, Georgia in April 2000. Word spread and by 2002, fields opened in South Carolina, Alabama, West Virginia, Illinois, and California.
Presently there are over 300 Miracle League organizations across the country, including in Puerto Rico, Canada and Australia. In Michigan, there are currently Miracle Leagues in Grand Rapids, Lansing and the Detroit area. The Miracle League serves over 250,000 individuals with disabilities. Learn more at www.miracleleague.com/history.
PLAY BASEBALL WITH US
Play Baseball With Us!
The Southwest Michigan Miracle League offers two seasons: Spring and Fall Ball of each calendar year.
Spring dates are tentatively the third week in April until early June. Fall dates are tentatively the second week in Sept until mid-October.
- There are 6 weeks of games each season.
- All games are held on Saturdays.
- Game times are usually 10 am, 11:30 am (and 1:00 pm, if enough players for 6 teams).
- All players will have a BUDDY assigned to them every Saturday to ensure their safety and engage with them– and have fun!!
- Equipment is provided.
- Each player receives a game day jersey/uniform and a SMML t-shirt.
- Our volunteers work very carefully and diligently to pair up players and buddies to best meet the needs of the player.
- Follow us on Facebook for more up to date info.
- Ages 5-19. No previous experience needed.
Need help with the registration fee? Email info@swmimiracle.org for scholarship information.
You must register to play using the link above in addition to applying for financial assistance.
We are looking for volunteers to serve as coaches and buddies for Miracle League games!
Buddy qualifications:
- Assist the player by holding their hand, pushing their wheelchair, or helping them in whatever capacity they need help
- Protect the player at all times
- Allow the player as much freedom to play their own game as possible
- Ensure the player has fun
- Have good spirit, enthusiasm, love, attitude, and concern in motivating the player and their families
For further buddy information, please contact:
Kim Olson @ kimkolson@hotmail.com
Amy DiMaggio @ adimaggio@portageps.org
If you’d like to volunteer with SMML in other ways (other than being a buddy), email us! We have several unique and creative ways for all to get involved.