BOISE, Idaho — In 2016, Taylor Duncan of Dallas, Georgia started his inclusive baseball league.
The 24-year-old has autism, making it harder for him to get involved in competitive sports as he was growing up.
He created Alternative Baseball for people ages 15 and older who have autism and special needs to help them develop different like skills on and off the field.
"It's important to provide more resources and opportunities for people like us so we can succeed with the proper support and encouragement," Duncan says.
Alternative Baseball plays just like any other baseball league. The players use wooden bats, steal bases and play 7 to 9 innings each game. The only difference from other leagues is that they play with a bigger and softer baseball.
"We accept everyone for who they are, encourage them to be the best they can be, and instill the confidence they need to fulfill their dreams on and off the baseball diamond," Duncan says.
Alternative Baseball has teams in about 50 cities across the U.S. from Hawaii to New York. Duncan says Boise is one of the next cities where he hopes to start a team.
"We realized there was a need, and we want to spread it to other areas other than our own so that everyone could have the same opportunity to play traditional baseball," Duncan says.
He also says he hopes to have a team in Boise by Spring 2021. All he needs is a coach to help get it started.
If you are interested in being a coach, manager, player or umpire for the Boise Alternative Baseball team, head to their website www.alternativebaseball.org to sign up.
