For Springville resident Keri Beardall, providing a place for individuals with special needs to thrive has been a life goal. And for the past 26 years, she has been doing just that with the VIP Special Needs Sports League that has helped hundreds feel included.
“Our motto is everybody comes, everybody plays, every wins and everybody goes home with a smile,” she said. “That’s what we want this program to be.”
Beardall has a 32-year-old son Austin who has lived with intractable epilepsy his whole life. This form of epilepsy, also known as drug-resistant or uncontrolled epilepsy, cannot be stopped with the use of standard anti-seizure medications.
Raising a son with special needs, Beardall saw early on his desire to do many of the things that his siblings and friends were doing.
“When he reached the age of five or six, I noticed that he wanted to play ball like his sisters and his friends,” she said. “So we found a group in Mapleton that had started a little baseball league for some kids with disabilities.”
Beardall explained that the league was rather small, with only about 10 players, adding that soon after they joined the league, it was on the brink of being shut down.
“After a year or so, the couple that started it had to step down from doing it, so they asked if anyone wanted to take over,” she said. “I’ve been running it ever since.”
The year Beardall took over was 2000, and over that time, it has grown by quite a bit as she and other volunteers have not only added players, but sports.
“At the time, we were just doing baseball and it grew and grew and then we added soccer and then basketball,” she said. “Now we have three sports that we do.”
The league was originally operating under Mapleton City’s recreation, but in 2021, it moved under Springville City.
“Our baseball program is the largest because it’s the most adaptive,” she said. “We have kids with varying degrees of disabilities and baseball is the easiest to adapt for any of those disabilities. Last year, we had 88 kids that we signed up for baseball and then basketball and soccer both range in the 50s.”
She said that the age range is between five years old up to mid-30s, adding that it really isn’t about age, but about giving individuals with special needs a place to connect and have fun. She also said that programs like these bring families and communities together.
“We have kids who have cerebral palsy and someone helps them hold the bat and hit the ball off the tee,” she said. “I have a couple older kids whose dad helps them bat and they actually coach pitch to them and they hit it. Then they push them around the bases in their wheelchairs and they laugh and have so much fun.
“I think one of the biggest things is it allows those kids to play ball just like their peers and siblings do and experience that same excitement and networking with other kids,” she continued. “And for families and parents, I feel like it’s been a great way to network with other parents that you wouldn’t normally meet and to be able to talk about your child and talk about what has worked for you and what hasn’t.”
Recently, Berdall has taken many of her conversations with parents she has met to another level by starting a podcast called “Unexpected Parenting.” In it, she has conversations with other parents of children with special needs, with the goal of connecting and giving each other a voice.
“My overall goal (with the podcast) is to share people’s stories because everybody’s story is different,” she said. “One mom’s story with a Down syndrome child to the next Down syndrome child is completely different. My story of Austin with epilepsy is completely different from another parent with a child with epilepsy. I feel like we don’t get to share our stories enough, and I just want people to be able to share their stories.”
Growing the VIP Special Needs Sports League, Beardall said, is like growing a community support system. She said that she hopes that those who join, will feel welcome and safe.
“The best part about doing this league for me, has been seeing the joy on everyone’s faces,” she said. “The kids get to have so much fun there are all the families I’ve met over the years that I would have never met and have become friends with.”
The fall soccer season is just about to wrap up and basketball registration will soon.
“We play six games in about four weeks and we try to keep our costs really low,” Beardall said. “It’s only $25 to play and that includes a shirt and socks for soccer, and for basketball and baseball, it’s a shirt. We do a medal or a trophy and we have parent volunteers bring treats. We also do a barbecue at the end of the season where they come with their families to celebrate with them.”
Information can be found on the Springville City Recreation website as well as the VIP Special Needs Sports League Facebook page.
