Steve Frech, Jason Frech and Izzy Hyson with the Philly Phanatic during BPALL’s Challenger Day at Toscani Field at the Field of Dreams in Berwyn. Behind the Phanatic are Simon Friel Shipway and Kyle Chamovitz. Izzy Hyson sang the national anthem that day and will sing it again to open her team’s matchup in Williamsport.
In rocky times, here’s a story to make you smile — and feel proud to call the Main Line home.
This Saturday, a baseball team from Berwyn will take the field at the storied home of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
The players won’t be elite “travel team” athletes gunning for a title. In fact, they won’t even keep score; everyone goes home a winner.
The rules don’t apply because the 15 players — boys and young men from Berwyn, Devon and Paoli, plus one young woman — all have special physical or intellectual needs.
Officially known as the Berwyn-Paoli Area Little League (BPALL) Challenger Angels, they were selected from 7,000 Little League Challenger teams to play an exhibition game against a Challenger team from California the morning of the Little League World Series title game.
BPALL will represent 300,000 Challenger players from around the world — the first time in the Angels’ 35-year history they’ve been so honored.
“This will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our players and their families,” says Gary Brooks, director of BPALL’s Challenger Division and a coach for the past 13 years.
Sonny DiMartini and Coach Gary Brooks at Berwyn-Paoli Area Little League’s Field of Dreams on Challenger Day 2022. Challenger players can have a range of disabilities including Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and gross and fine motor delays.
Brooks’ son Zach, 29, a longtime player for the Angels, will be an on-field “Buddy.”
Brooks tells us he’s dreamed of bringing his team to the big dance for years, ever since he, Zach and a few teammates traveled to Williamsport to watch the Challenger Exhibition in 2018.
BPALL Challenger Division Director and coach Gary Brooks and son Zach, a veteran Angel, in Williamsport in 2018. Now 29, Zach will be a “Buddy” during Saturday’s matchup.
“I saw priceless smiles on the faces of the players, buddies, coaches and family members and watched Little League teams cheering them on, with Little Leaguers from around the world joining Challenger players on the field to congratulate them after the game. They were treated like rock stars. On our drive back to Devon that night, I told my wife, Wendy, that I needed to figure out a way to have our Angels team participate.”
It seems the rock-star treatment has already started. WVIA-TV, the PBS station for central and northeastern Pa. that televises the Challenger Exhibition, recently sent a video crew to Berwyn’s Field of Dreams, the Angels’ home field, to interview players and coaches and film practice.
Worth noting: the Challenger Exhibition in Williamsport has a second local connection. Malvern-based Eggland’s Best is the presenting sponsor and is contributing $15,000 to match Little League International’s grant, helping cover the Angels’ travel and participation costs.
On Wednesday afternoon, Brooks was running around buying Wawa soft pretzels and Tastykakes for goody bags the Angels will present to their opponents on Saturday.
Somebody raised these rock stars right — and that’s a very Main Line kind of pride.
Watch the Berwyn-Paoli Area Little League Challenger Angels in action Saturday, Aug. 29 at 10:30 a.m. via livestream at WVIA.org, the WVIA App or the ESPN App. Berwyn-Paoli Area Little League Challenger Division serves 50 players with year-round programming and is supported by volunteers, families and “Buddies” from BPALL’s Majors division. The league is 100% community-supported. Its private fields are maintained by registration fees and private donations.
Thank you for covering our awesome athletes. My son is on this team and we are truly honored to be able to participate. The teams also each designed collectible pins for the game – one from Berwyn, one from California – my sons designed the winner from our Angels team. All of these athletes truly have a love of the game and are great teammates – the camaraderie means the world to me and my family and the coaches truly care about each player for who they are and their unique gifts.
Thank you for adding this extra information about Berwyn-Paoli’s awesome Angels. I was so happy to shine a light on this team’s singular honor! Enjoy the matchup in Williamsport!
Love this story so much. Thank you Caroline for sharing this! My nephew is special needs. And it’s nice to know there is an athletic path for him #nevergiveup