The BuddyBall Sports Model

The BuddyBall model is an all volunteer experience matching children with developmental disabilities to non-disabled buddies for 1-1 sports activities. In addition to the players and buddies, parents and community benefit from this enterprise.

Buddy Ball Sports TM is a non-profit sports organization dedicated to providing the opportunity for children with developmental disabilities to play sports. BuddyBall is a subsidiary of Orangetown Mighty Metros (OMM) Soccer which is a large recreational soccer league catering to 2,500 children throughout the town of Orangetown in Rockland County, NY, for the past 40 years.

BuddyBall initiated its inaugural season in the fall of 2001 with Soccer, then added Basketball over the winter, and then Track & Field program in the spring. Through the assistance of local organizations, individuals and schools, we reach out to as many people as possible, to offer community based recreational sports programs, grouped according to the general abilities of the children that register.We utilize the popular concept of providing each child with a Buddy; a volunteer that will help guide the registered child through the sports activities with as much or as little assistance as is needed.

The Beneficiaries

Players – Any child (age 3 – 21) with a developmental disability that wants to be “part of a team” and learn skills that will not only improve their sports’ abilities but also strengthen their social skills is welcome. The interaction with their non-disabled buddies provides a normalization experience that carries over when they meet each other in school, in stores, or in recreational areas. It is common to witness “big greetings” when buddies and players run into each other in the community.

Buddies – The buddies are teenagers from Orangetown and the surrounding communities that are willing to spend quality time working and socializing with children that have various levels of developmental disabilities. For those that need it, community service hours for school and/or religious education requirements are kept track of and verified. It is said that many people feel uncomfortable being around people with disabilities and they attribute this to their lack of exposure and experience doing things with them. From their experience in BuddyBall, the Buddies get a chance to see the players they work with simply as” kids” with unique and fascinating personalities. Their work in BuddyBall will give them the confidence to appropriately socialize with people with disabilities in all settings throughout their lifetimes.

Adult Coordinators (Volunteers) – A core group of volunteer adults organize and supervise over 250 children (players & buddies) during all 3 sport seasons (soccer, basketball and track). It is important to note that this group doesn’t have any children (players) in the program. These volunteers have acquired the knowledge they need from their team experience in BuddyBall and from listening to players, parents, and community professionals who offer advice.

The Community – The BuddyBall Sports Program has received increasing support from surrounding school districts and various community and government organizations. BuddyBall goes beyond the rhetoric about accepting people with disabilities in communities, to providing experience that actually contributes to making that happen. You see it on the athletics fields and courts and you see it in “real life” in the parks, stores and sidewalks of our community.

Formal Program Description

For each sport, the program is designed to provide active fitness, skill development, fun, and a sense of true accomplishment. This is accomplished by organizing activities into skill stations and adapting those stations to provide the maximum chance of players’ success. The design of activities includes using adaptive equipment such as 1 foot hurdles in track, freestanding 6 foot baskets in basketball, and three foot soccer goals. It is also accomplished by setting rules that increase the chance of success. For example with the younger players, they have the opportunity if they choose to play a mini game in both soccer and basketball. The rule change that is made is that defenders must get to their assigned spots in a zone defense but they cannot steal the ball. In this way, every offensive play ends in a score. Of course, team scores are not kept. The players celebrate each goal or basket individually.