THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407150264
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY JOHN GORDON, CLIPPER SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
REGISTRATION FOR A new baseball league for handicapped youths is scheduled for early August at the Chittum Club House, which is behind Chittum Elementary School on Dock Landing Road.
The Western Branch Athletic Club is sponsoring the new circuit during the fall ball season. It will have only two teams - 12 players on a team - and they will play four- to six-inning games on six straight Saturdays, Sept. 10 through Oct. 15, according to player/agent Mary Pat Stephenson.
``We wanted to start small and work out the kinks,'' she said. ``I'll coach one of the teams, but at this time I don't know who will coach the other.''
Stephenson has not been at a loss for volunteers since she submitted her proposal earlier this year.
``So many have volunteered to coach or umpire,'' she said. ``Also, each handicapped child must have a buddy, and many of the players in our other baseball leagues have volunteered to help with wheelchairs or whatever.''
In fact, her own three sons are among the volunteers. One plays AAU baseball while the other two are members of Pony Baseball All Star teams in the Western Branch area.
A special education teacher for 13 years, Stephenson saw a need for such a league.
``I've been talking with parents who were frustrated that there wasn't a local outlet for their handicapped children,'' she said. ``The nearest league until this year has been in Virginia Beach, although the new Little League here in Chesapeake has a challenger division.''
Stephenson worked up a plan, contacted some baseball committee members and then presented it to the board last May. It was approved unanimously.
Her next step was to contact various businesses about providing T-shirts and hats. The response has been tremendous, according to Stephenson.
``The only thing missing are the children,'' she said.
Hopefully that will be remedied at registration. Handicapped children from 6 to 12 old may sign up Aug. 3, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.; Aug. 6, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Aug. 7, from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Cost is $20 per child.
DEAL NAMED ALL STATE: Curtis Deal, former Great Bridge High star, was one of three Virginia Tech players named to the 1994 Virginia State Golf Coaches Association Division I All State team.
A freshman in eligibility for the Hokies, Deal came in ninth in the Metro Conference Champions, tied for fourth in the NCAA regionals in Alabama and finished fourth in the Virginia Intercollegiate State Championships. The Hokies came in 19th in the NCAA National Championships in Texas.
The other two Virginia Tech players named to the first team were Brian Sharp of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Sean Ferrell from Harare, Zimbabwe. ODU's Scott Carlson was the only other area golfer to make the first team, but the Monarchs Chip Richter and Mike Stamberger were picked for the second squad.
PERDEW LOOKS AHEAD: Terry Perdew, Western Branch's wrestling coach, says his team is going to be really young this season.
A key loss, of course, will be Chris Viola, who will be attending Michigan. But his younger brother, Matt, will start at Western Branch as a freshman and will wrestle at 103 pounds.
Perdew also is expecting big things from junior Sean Sanderlin, who was 2-2 in the 150-pound division at the Cadet nationals in Columbia, Mo., last weekend. Sanderlin finished fifth in another freestyle tournament at Davidson College in North Carolina early last month.
ATTENTION GOLFERS: Four years ago, the Carl W. Opauski Memorial Scholarship Fund was established by the Opauski family to benefit a Deep Creek High senior who is outstanding in both academics and athletics.
The fund is a tribute to the late Carl W. Opauski Sr., who served as Deep Creek's coach and athletic director for more than 30 years.
To maintain funds for the scholarship, a golf tournament was started in 1992, and last year, more than 100 individuals and businesses participated in the tourney or helped sponsor it.
This year's event will be at the Sleepy Hole Golf Course on July 29, and people interested in participating should contact Nathan Hardee at Deep Creek High, 494-7520, or Jane Pruitt, chairman of the event, at 483-9787.
SOCCER CAMP STARTS: Eric Ferguson, former Great Bridge High star and current member of the Hampton Roads Hurricanes soccer team, is returning for his second year to the Chesapeake Select Soccer Club's third annual camp at TCC, starting Monday.
Ferguson earned numerous soccer awards as a dominant player and midfielder in the Southeastern District. He played collegiate soccer at Notre Dame in 1992 and is retaining his amateur status in the United State Interregional Soccer League.
The camp will run through Friday at the Cedar Road campus. Hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
For further information, contact Paul O'Leary at 487-3663.
WILL ENTER TOURNAMENT: Danny Transfiguracion of Chesapeake is scheduled to compete in the East Coast Bench Press tournament at Wallops Island July 30. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Left to right, Luis Marquez, Kelsey Equils, player/agent Mary Pat
Stephenson and Kyle DiDio are involved in Western Branch Athletic
Club's handicapped baseball league, which is scheduled to start in
early August.
by CNB