If it appears that the new YMCA sports complex was built especially for children like Noah and the marker Kane - well, it was.
Noah, 10, and Kane, 4, wheelchair use Excelsior Springs because they have a rare medical condition known as syndrome of Escobar. Like many children who are crazy for sports. Noah loves soccer flag, while Kane enjoys baseball.
"They go to bed the night before games to talk about it," said his mother, Christy marker. "They get up calling their shirts that carry the games."
Turning a grass playing field is tough in a wheelchair, especially if some rain has fallen. That's why the new Fred and Shirley Pryor YMCA Challenger Sports Complex, at 2100 NW 87th St, has rubber turf. The fields are level, not grooves that could trip a player with a walker.
Baseball has bases that are flat. The complex parking spots are available, and the dugouts do not have stairs.
Only a few dozen baseball fields like these exist in the country, YMCA officials said, and the best of his knowledge, there is a complex of right like yours anywhere in the country.
"That kind of installation is very rare," said Kirk Bauer, executive director of the U.S. Disabled Sports, a group that promotes sports for people with disabilities.
An opening ceremony of the complex is scheduled for 10:30 pm today. Guests are Mark Teahen, former Royals player who helped raise money for the complex. The baseball field complex is named.
The complex includes American Family Insurance field, which is used for football and soccer. The YMCA is raising funds for a third field named after the former head of Trent Green, a fully accessible playground and a pavilion with restrooms and a food stand.
A few football matches will be played this winter, but the complex is not going to use until next spring.
Michelle Ford, vice president of programs for adjusting the local YMCA, said the agency hopes to raise funds to complete next spring. The cost for the total complex is approximately $ 4.2 million. The Pryors were the main donors, pledging $ 500,000.
Until the second phase is completed, the resort has portable toilets that are accessible to persons with disabilities.
The project was suggested by a kind of leadership Jewell College William Pryor, Ford said. His original plan was to build a baseball field access, but the idea grew.
The complex is not strictly for athletes with disabilities, despite their games will be given priority in the program, Ford said. Barry nearby school complex used for physical education classes and recess.
Poor health is a problem for the whole country, "said Bauer. People with disabilities, however, face an increased risk of obesity and lack of exercise. That's why sports programs for this population are so important.
In recent decades, more buildings have become accessible to persons with disabilities, but is only part of the solution, "said Bauer. A lot of community centers and sports facilities are not equipped to adjust and not have trained personnel or programs to support people with disabilities.
"You may be able to enter the premises," said Bauer, "but would not be able to use the computer."
The YMCA in Kansas City offers a "Challenger" program that offers a variety of sports for athletes from the city. About 850 young people participate, and have a variety of physical, and intellectual development. Athletes joined the volunteer "friends" to help them.
For example, if a ball falls out of the reach of children, the friend give it to the player so that he or she may roll again.
Marty and Christy marker, parents of Noah and Kane, Challenger said the program helped them make friends with other families in the same situation. It gave children the opportunity to have the same experiences as other children - everything from learning about sportsmanship to win medals at the end of the season.
"We're just this normal family doing normal things with our friends," said Christy marker.
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