IN THE NEWS!
“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
― Babe Ruth
Like baseball – life is about hitting what is pitched to you and moving forward. Aaron Stevenson, a student in the Work and College Opportunities (WACO) program, is up to bat and he’s hitting homeruns!
Aaron came to Texas A&M University this summer for the five-week program in order to gain the skills, opportunities, and independence experience he would get as part of the WACO program for Texans who are blind or visually impaired. The program provides an opportunity for those in its program to experience what it is like to go to school and work part time as independent young adults. Each student has been assigned a job site, a job coach, and will regularly attend a class under the supervision of mentors.
Aaron was born with a genetic condition, Alport Syndrome, and in middle school had to have a kidney transplant from his Aunt Denise; this condition caused his vision and hearing losses. This didn’t slow Aaron down; he went on to play basketball in middle school and was a middle linebacker for his high school football team.
After joining the WACO Program, one of Aaron’s DBS counselors mentioned the BVCIL Beep Baseball team and Aaron decided he wanted to become a part of the BCS Outlaws.
On July 26 – August 2, Aaron and eleven other BCS Outlaws will be going to the 2015 National Beep Baseball Association World Series in Rochester, New York.
Beep baseball is a sport played mostly by people with visual impairments or blindness but can be played by people who do not have an impairment as all players, minus the home-base catcher and pitcher, must be blindfolded. A game is played for six innings and has three outs per inning. There is not a second base – first and third bases have speakers and are placed a hundred feet down their respective lines. Each base contains a noise unit that gives off a different buzzing sound when activated; the batter does not know which base will be turned on until the ball is hit. The ball itself has a loud, distinct beeping sound so that both the batter and field catchers are able to find it. After the batter makes contact with the ball, the base operator activates one of the bases. The runner must identify the base that is buzzing and run in that direction before the ball is thrown to the base. If the runner safely gets to the base, a run is scored. A batter is allowed four strikes and only one pass ball. A ball must travel at least forty feet to be considered fair – less than forty feet and it is a foul ball.
Aaron stated that the most challenging thing is determining whether to run right or left (first or third) because of his hearing aids; he said it’s hard to tell which direction the buzzing sound is coming from. Aaron is quite athletic and can bat hard, giving him more time to determine where he needs to go and run “as fast as he can.”
Aaron’s goal is to continue his education with a Ph.D. in Kinesiology and he has the right “go for it all” attitude to do just that.
Aaron remarked that if he had not come to the WACO program at Texas A&M he would not have known about Beep Baseball and the other opportunities available at Texas A&M University.
BVCIL has sponsored the BCS Outlaws since 2014. BCS Beep Baseball is expected to become their own private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in a couple of years. If you are interested and would like to learn more or to become a part of the BCS Outlaws team, contact Josh Contreras at 979-776-5505 ext. 103 or at josh@bvcil.org.
WACO is a partnership between the Center on Disability and Development (CDD) at Texas A&M University, the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) Division for Blind Service (DBS), and the Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living (BVCIL).
Each partner assists with various aspects for the program: The CDD provides the dorms as well as trains the mentors who help with the program; BVCIL interviews and places students in jobs for which they will provide job coaching along with transportation to and from their work places in their Connector and Transporter, an accessible van and bus newly implemented as part of their transportation program; DBS counselors provide training and classes to help students to be successful and reach their goals as independent adults. For more information, you may contact the CDD at 979-845-4612 or BVCIL at 979-776-5505.