It’s clear that sports are a great thing for kids.
Kids who participate in sports make more friends, develop better social skills, learn the value of teamwork, and are less likely to try drugs or get in trouble in other ways.
For kids with disabilities, sports can be challenging.
Sports are still important because they help these kids with all the usual benefits and more. Kids with disabilities need to feel accepted and victorious, too, and sports help do that.
One T-ball player just danced his way around the bases and into the hearts of thousands of people. Billy plays for the League of YES, which is a sports league for people with disabilities. He loves the sport, and he’s pretty good at it. He may be a new player, but he is impressing everyone who watches him.
According to the YES League website:
“All we require is Love and Unbelievable Dedication to support the most beautiful human beings you will ever meet. If you want to see what an incredible impact you can make on a life while at the same time change your own The League of YES’s mission is to establish and sustain baseball programs for people (of all ages) with disabilities. Our objective is to provide an opportunity for those individuals to experience the joy and benefits that come from playing our national pastime. Our goals are to help the league’s players develop social skills and increase self-esteem, while promoting community support and sponsorship for the league.”
It’s definitely been helpful for Billy and his family.
Billy has already hit several home runs, and the way he runs the bases is adorable and unique. He likes to dance his way from third base to home. He gets really excited and just breaks out into a dance while he’s headed to home base.
His friends and family members are cheering him on from the sidelines, and that motivates him even more.
His teammates and friends were so excited to see Billy hit a home run that they decided to gather around him and make a tunnel that he could run or dance his way through.
Of course, Billy wasn’t finished after he reached home.
He could tell that the crowd was loving his dance moves, so he decided to treat them to some more. They all clapped and cheered him on some more, and he danced off the field.
But his dance moved reached much further than the stands. The video went viral and had millions of views. Kristine Squitieri Fitzpatrick, who founded the League of YES, said:
“Billy is very excited about the exposure and thinks he’s famous. We are very grateful for the awareness. Our big hope for this going viral is that other towns and states in the U.S. form leagues like this.”
Leagues like YES make it possible for everyone to enjoy sports and reap the benefits of them.
According to American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology:
“Sports help children develop physical skills, get exercise, make friends, have fun, learn to play as a member of a team, learn to play fair, and improve self-esteem. American sports culture has increasingly become a money-making business. The highly stressful, competitive, ‘win at all costs’ attitude prevalent at colleges and with professional athletes affects the world of children’s sports and athletics; creating an unhealthy environment. It is important to remember that the attitudes and behavior taught to children in sports carry over to adult life. Parents should take an active role in helping their child develop good sportsmanship.”
The YES league goes a step above regular sports and allows kids with disabilities to play, too.
Right now, the league may be small, but as this video continues to be shared, it will raise more awareness of the need for programs like this and the good they can do. Thanks to Billy, more people could decide to start similar leagues in their own areas.
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Best video of the day. Watch the end for the dance😃❤❤
@leagueofyes
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NBC News MLBPosted by Kristine Squitieri Fitzpatrick on Saturday, April 28, 2018
