Tournament brings community together

The sights and sounds at a Yuba City softball field were the familiar ones of summer — the crack of the bat, the collision of an onrushing runner and the shortstop, the fist bumps and high-fives between teammates after scoring a run.

But the players Sunday at the Blackburn-Talley Sports Complex were no ordinary athletes. They were among nearly 250 participants in an annual softball tournament for the Central Valley's developmentally disabled — and, to their coaches, an example of wider possibilities for the players and greater understanding and acceptance in the community.

"For the athletes, they have an opportunity to do what they normally don't get the chance to do in school," said Debbie Gingery, the tournament's registration director and a former coach. "And the community is much more aware of who they are. We get people to volunteer for just a couple of hours — and they stay on."

For 27 years, the competition, now known as the Janice Fetters and Patty Godwin Invitational Softball Tournament, has gathered ballplayers ranging from their teens to their early 60s in Yuba City for a day of bat-and-ball action. On Sunday five squads featuring Mid-Valley residents were among the 18 teams in the event, a sort of training run for Special Olympians preparing for the organization's regional softball tournament in late August.

"It's a good opportunity for them to get some games in, in game conditions," said Thomas (T.J.) Fetters, director of Special Olympics Yuba/Sutter/Colusa. "And it's a very fun community thing, for them to take part in an event like this."

For the athletes, most of the day's joy was not in the scorecard but in the experience itself — and in sharing it with others like themselves, with family and friends present to witness their skills.

"What makes me happy is all of my teammates, helping them, getting along with other people," said John Melin, 43, a left fielder and third baseman for the Yuba-Sutter All-Stars squad.

"I like it so much 'cause we get to do stuff to have fun — I got a lot friends around here," said Melin's teammate William Howard, a 20-year-old from Browns Valley in the tournament for the first time.

The morning had seen a shaky start for the All-Stars, who lost their opening game 18-5 against the Sacramento Breakers. "But we're gonna win the second one!" Howard almost shouted, as he and two smiling, green-uniformed teammates made easygoing chitchat as they strolled off the softball diamond.

Howard, Melin and their fellow Mid-Valley ballplayers had started training in mid-June with weekly practices, preparing for up to three softball competitions during the summer. Leading some of them was Jeff Gingery, who began volunteering for the Yuba City event 16 years ago and described the years of watching on-field success instill pride in the participants — and those nearest to them.

"The community shows its sense of caring — and it gives the athletes a sense of responsibility," said Gingery, Debbie's Gingery's husband and coach of the Yuba-Sutter Bears. "They get to be together, enjoy a sense of company.

"It's definitely a boost for their morale. We have no trouble at all getting athletes to come for this. They love this, they do — it's their chance to shine."

CONTACT Howard Yune at 749-4708 or hyune@ appealdemocrat.com