Baseball Season

Josh Plays T-Ball

by Rochelle Mitchell

Every year Ruby registered Josh for Little League. He played on the Challenger League where his special education teacher coached. He was just learning how to throw. The previous year, he ran to the nearest player to hand him the ball. Josh loved to be run around outside, carrying his pink soccer ball. When Ruby threw him the ball, he insisted on handing it back to his mother.

Ruby stepped a couple feet outside his arms' reach, but Josh just came after her with the ball. "No, Josh," she said. "Throw the ball."

He simply ran after her. "I have an idea," she told her husband who was lying on a blanket with their two year old daughter. "Why don't I have Josh sit on my lap while you sit a few feet away?"

Sam sighed. "Do I have to?"

Ruby raised her eyebrow to give him a stern look. Sometimes he was worse than the kids.

Sam got up from his blanket and sat down on the grass. Josh managed to sit on his mother's lap without squirming. Sam threw the large pink ball. It landed plop in Josh's lap. Josh used both hands to push the ball out of his lap. Sam threw the ball, again. Josh moaned, but he threw the ball. Sam, sitting out of arms' reach, had forced Josh to throw the ball.

Josh started to squirm and tears ran down his freckled cheeks. "Throw the ball, Josh," said his mother. He pushed the ball out of his lap. "Good job, Josh."

The tears continued to fall.

"Sports are supposed to be fun," yelled Sam. "If he's going to cry, what's the point?"

"It's good for his eye-hand coordination."

"But he doesn't like it."

"He has to learn to be social," Ruby explained, always the teacher.

"But baseball?" groaned Sam. He hated sports, seeing them as a waste of time. Sam believed time was better spend reading or going to a museum. Sam considered himself an intellectual. He actually read physics book while waiting at the hairdresser. Sam would play catch with the children, but taking Josh to games was Ruby's responsibility.

Ruby set aside time each day to play catch. Sometimes she or Sam threw the ball to Josh only two or three times before the game was called off. Josh soon played catch with less reluctance. Their daughter Wendy joined the games. Two year old Wendy wanted to do everything her big brother did.

Ruby no longer had to sit Josh on her lap or stand behind him to help him throw the soccer ball. Standing in a square, Wendy threw to Daddy, Daddy threw to Josh, and Josh threw to Mommy. They tossed the ball around a few times before the square broke form. Wendy ran away from the house with the ball and Josh followed.

Wendy threw to Josh a few times. Josh moaned, but he did run after the ball when he couldn't catch it. Sam and Ruby watched their children play together from the porch, the typical American family playing catch in the backyard.

Finally the big day came. Ruby drove Josh to the Little League Field. The park was filled with handicapped children. She couldn't find his coach nor did she recognize any of the parents. Then she saw a chubby girl about a year older than Josh that she recognized as Lindsay, a child in Josh's kindergarten class. "Josh," yelled the girl.

Josh ran and hugged her before Ruby could say no. Lindsay's mother said, "Say hello to Josh." She capitulated, but Ruby could tell by the look on her face she didn't appreciate the hug.

Josh hugged his mother before hugging Lindsay a second time. When he became overly excited, Josh's hugs became painful because he started pinching.

Ruby, seeing him pinching Lindsay under her arms, took him by the hand and gently escorted him to where the teams were lining up. Finally, other members of Josh's team showed.

The park was huge with a playground, seven baseball fields, and volleyball courts. Their team was scheduled to play on the furthest field. They had to walk past the two baseball diamonds, past the playground and over a bridge. Josh was loving it. He kept running ahead and needed to be called back. Running over the wooden bridge several times, he smiled ear to ear. After stubbing her toe on a tree root, Ruby remarked to a woman carrying a small child. "I'm glad I didn't have to bring my daughter."

"It's not that far. It's just over the bridge."

Miss Cathy herded her team onto the single bench. Challenger games usually lasted two innings, allowing each player to bat twice. Miss Cathy and the other coach had a conference. Family members had to sit on the grass.

Feeling the moist grass soak her pants, Ruby wondered if she was one of those crazy parents who believe if they treat their autistic child like a normal child he will be normal. She listened to the two boys sitting beside her. Their little brother was also on Josh's team. One boy, holding a lacrosse stick, told the other, "I hope I'm not late for my game." Josh would never show that much enthusiasm for anything other than building with his blocks or twiddling his toys. Miss Cathy called Josh's self-stimulating behavior twiddling for lack of a better name. Sitting happily on the bench, Josh twiddled another player's glove until Miss Cathy called him out to the field. Then he dropped the glove into the dirt for the owner to pick up. The boy with the glove took his position at first base. The first batter went up to the plate.

Josh stood in the infield between first and second bases and seemed unaware of the game unfolding around him. His feet kicked the moist brown dirt. Then a small hand reached down to touch the soft earth. He squeezed the earth between his fingers and, slowly, with his hand over the ground palm down, he spread his fingers to watch the earth fall. He kicked the dirt, again, and groaned when Miss Cathy asked him to go after the ball. He walked over to where the ground ball had rolled and the most amazing thing happened. He scooped up the ball with both hands. He looked at it a second and, then, he threw the ball to Lindsay. He only threw the ball a few feet, but that didn't matter. Miss Cathy said, "Josh, good throw," and Ruby cheered from her spot on the grass. Lindsay had caught the ball and threw it to first.

After all the members of the other team had their chance at bat, Miss Cathy's team had their turn. Josh didn't appear all that interested when he went to the plate. He had returned to staring at the dirt. Coach Cathy helped him with his helmet. Surprise, surprise, he didn't take it off. Josh hated hats. He walked to the plate where Cathy was waiting with a bat.

He held the metal bat with both hands and swung at the tee. The tee went down. Cathy set it up and placed the ball back on platform. He swung at the platform, again. BOOM. It went down. Cathy gave him another chance. This time Josh hit the ball ever so slightly, causing it to drop several centimeters from the tee. Cathy and Josh ran to first base then second base then third and back home. Josh beamed.

He received a Challenger Day pin that is still on his mother's night table and a tee-shirt that says "Challenger Day" on front and "Because life is a challenge," on back. Ruby told Sam about the game when they got home. Sam teased his wife about Josh hugging Lindsay and made remarks about him having a girlfriend. But Ruby recalled the day as the one Josh threw a baseball.

-- -Rochelle Mitchell

rochelle@mitchellware.com

URL http://www. mitchellware.com/mitchell/home/rochelle