On the Field with St. Camillus Special Olympics

By Katie McFadden

Every swing gets a cheer, every foul ball might not be called, there are more safes than outs, and the points don’t matter when St. Camillus Special Olympics’ Challenger softball league hits the fields at Fort Tilden. Each summer, the Special Olympians get out of the gym and into the sun for America’s favorite pastime. And as Special Olympics member and Breezy Point resident Patty Flaherty puts it, “I love that we all come together. There’s no judgment, no winning, no losing, it’s just us having fun.”

On April 8, the Special Olympics Challengers hit the fields for the start of the season and The Rockaway Times caught up with them on Tuesday, June 3. This past Wednesday, June 11, the Breezy Point Columbiettes came out to cheer them on with some post-game pizza, and next week, Wednesday, June 18, they’ll play their final game of the season at 6 p.m.

On Tuesday, June 3, Jeffery Resnick, a longtime Special Olympian with Down syndrome, beamed when a volunteer called him Aaron Judge after he slid into first base. The Rockaway Times sat with the future Yankee in the dugout as he spoke about his aspirations. “I’m really good at baseball. I want to be on the Yankees,” Resnick said. “If everyone sees I’m doing good, they might take me on the Yankees.” But Resnick was just being humble. Joe Featherston, the coach, founder and head of St. Camillus Special Olympics said Resnick shared even bigger dreams with him. “He just told me he’s going to own the Yankees,” Featherston said.

But for Featherston, it’s all about the small wins on the field and the smiles on the players’ faces. “The goal is to see someone like Liz, running to first base like that after hitting the ball, with a big smile on her face and their friends cheering and the parents seeing their child hit the ball,” Featherston said as he watched the action on the field after pitching the first half.

The Challengers have been hitting the baseball fields for about 15 years as part of the St. Camillus Special Olympics program, which Featherston launched almost 30 years ago. Featherston was running a Special Olympics program at the Cross Island YMCA for about three years before a parent traveling from Rockaway asked him to consider bringing the program closer to home. “I looked into opening accreditations, St. Camillus was nice enough to give us the site, and of course, we’ve had loads of beautiful volunteers. Without them, forget about it. But someone asked me to do it, I did it and I’m happy that I’ve done it, very happy,” Featherston said about starting the program in 1996. Almost every Monday, the Special Olympians, who range from kids to adults with conditions such as down syndrome, autism, and other physical, intellectual or emotional differences, meet at St. Camillus’ Springman Hall for an evening full of activities from basketball to soccer, pickleball to hockey, ping pong to football and even arts and crafts and dancing.

As vice president of the Rockaway Little League (RLL) board, the opportunity came up for Featherston to merge both worlds and create the Challenger division of RLL. “The Rockaway Little League has always been so supportive of us. They give us free uniforms. They charge us a one lump fee, which is less than they’d charge on an individual basis. Matt Piccione and Vinny Harkins do a wonderful job of getting the field ready for us. We’re their number one priority and we’ve been playing ever since,” Featherston said. And the program just keeps getting better. “We’ve grown in the numbers that are playing, they’ve gotten better, and they enjoy it. I think the thing they like the most is hanging out in the dugout and making fun of each other,” Featherston said. But while there’s jeers in the dugout, when it comes to the field, its cheers and encouragement all around from fellow players.

After all, as Flaherty said, this league is all about fun. Nobody keeps score. Most players are safe when they reach first base. The outfield sometimes has a few too many players. And strikeouts are nonexistent, as everyone swings until they hit. “When they hit that ball, they feel like they’ve done something special,” Featherston said. “When they make contact, no matter where the ball goes, the fact that they hit it and can run to first base, they feel like they did something.”

On June 3, Jeanne Farina, who spent several weeks in and out of the hospital after suffering a fall, was back on the field, with her uncle bracing her at the plate and holding her as she ran the bases, while proud mom Mary Farina watched on. “She’s so strong,” Mary Farina said after explaining some of Jeanne’s recent health setbacks. “But she’s here,” she continued. After all, the Special Olympics program helps keep its participants going, whether from the feel-good thrill of being cheered on by friends after hitting a ball or getting a get-well card from fellow members when they can’t be there. “It’s everything for Jeanne. It’s the socialization, the community that is here. It’s so loving, caring, accepting and they never stop giving. The volunteers make the program and it’s the people in Rockaway who are so generous with their time and their money,” Farina said.

Special Olympics is supported through the generous donations of the community, including through individuals and organizations. And generous volunteers put in the time to keep it going. One such volunteer at the game, Patrick Trainor, has been with the group since 2011. What keeps him coming back? “The people, the community, the athletes. Just showing up and seeing the smiles on their faces. It’s entertaining and fun. It’s a great group of people,” Trainor said.

Many are grateful for Featherston starting Special Olympics and keeping it going almost 30 years. “Joe is the heart of it. Without Joe, this would never be,” Farina said. Flaherty agreed. “If it wasn’t for Joe Featherston, we’d have nowhere to go. Someone introduced me to this program and I’m glad I went. I like helping people and I’ve made a lot of friends,” she said.

Softball is one added piece of the puzzle that makes St. Camillus Special Olympics so great. After scoring a run, Rockaway resident Heather Huber said, “It’s an amazing field and good team, good spirit, a good sport and it builds the confidence in you.”