Playing Hardball

As winners of six of the past eight national softball titles, the Barons needed to draw on all the experience, talent, ability, and luck they could to have a chance against a newfound Twins powerhouse.

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Nebraska's Zac Niemann (right) and the Midwest Flyers' Art Johnson collide at second base.

For more than 60 years the College World Series has crowned its champion in Omaha, and this year the National Wheelchair Softball Association (NWSA) did the same. Twelve teams traveled to wheelchair softball's newest "Field of Dreams" located at ALLPLAY Complex in Omaha this past summer to compete in the 2011 championship tournament.

The $1.5 million barrier-free sports and recreation complex, built by Nebraska Barons coach and NWSA Commissioner Bruce Froendt, includes the Barons' wheelchair softball field, a Miracle League baseball field, a playground, and a water park (among other features) —all especially designed for ease of use by people with disabilities.

The field is the latest of a growing number of dedicated wheelchair softball fields in the nation constructed over the last ten years. The first known one was built in 1996 in Pasadena, Tex. Since then, ten additional fields have been constructed, with two more scheduled to open next year in Brooklyn Park (Minneapolis) and Wichita, Kan.

"At a cost in excess of $300,000 each, these new fields will not only provide a safe place to practice and compete for our teams but they also serve as recognition and commitment by the communities that build these facilities as to the importance of wheelchair athletics," says Froendt.

In NWSA championship play, teams begin in the double-elimination tournament in the championship division. Teams that have two loses in early rounds are eliminated from championship contention, but they find new life (and more games to play) in a double-elimination consolation division.

Check out the complete article in the November 2011 issue of S'NS.

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