Well, it won’t be the same baseball games that would ordinarily kick off the Fall 2020 Season for The Miracle League of High Point.
The Miracle League will hold a “drive-through” parade for its registered players on Friday, Sept. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. That will take place at the High Point Athletic Complex at 2920 School Park Road, the home of the Miracle League field.
The Miracle League is a program offered by the High Point Parks and Recreation Department that, most years, gives kids with intellectual and/or physical disabilities a chance to play baseball as part of a team. But in a Thursday, Sept. 10 press release after the coronavirus upset those fall 2020 plans – like so many other plans – the league made the announcement of the drive-through celebration in lieu of the start of games.
“With in-person play currently on hold, players and their families were surveyed, and, together with volunteer coaches, a decision was made to offer a parade, activity book and scavenger hunt in lieu of the 2020 Fall season games,” the release stated. “On Friday, Sept. 11, beginning at 6 p.m., volunteers will hold up signs of encouragement as players drive through the athletic complex, home to the Miracle League’s ‘Field of Dreams.’”
It adds that players will have safely socially distanced photos taken at the end of the parade, and each of them will get an activity book that was specially developed for High Point Miracle League players. The book includes a “Keep Moving Pledge” for Miracle League athletes – who can receive a prize for participating in, and documenting, regular exercise over the next 30 days.
Due to the pandemic, the event isn’t open to the general public, but the league is hoping to get some local media coverage at the location “where so many games of baseball have been played, friendships have developed and memories have been made.”
High Point’s Miracle League field, one of more than 250 fields across the world that’s been specially adapted for this type of purpose, was dedicated in 2009 at the High Point Athletic Complex after a community-wide fundraising effort. Over that time, the league has grown from four teams and a total of 42 players to 12 teams and more 125 players.