SPORTS
PLAY BALL! CLIFTON FATHER, SON FORM SPECIAL NEEDS BASEBALL TEAM
WRITTEN BY TONY GICAS
“
Ijust want to play ball,” were the words Robert Marriello heard from his then 8-year-old son, Thomas, two years ago. The Cliftonyoungster, abaseball fanatic who happens to be autistic, was not able toplay his favorite sport in an organizedleaguealongsidehis peers.
Like his father, Thomas is adie-hard fan of the New YorkMets. AQueens native, Marriellostill has the programs from more than 30 games he attended at SheaStadium during the franchise’ s magical 1986 championship season.
In 2015, the family spent weekends traveling to Garfield so Thomas could participate in aspecial needsbaseball program.
Eachtime the Marriellofamily hopped back into their car to drive home from the Bergen County field, Marriello and his wife Gabriella looked at each other and said:“ Why can’ t we do this back home?”
In Clifton, Mike Soccol has dedicated nearly three decadestothe Challenger League, which he started with his son and daughter at Surgent Park. In addition to residents in wheelchairs, Soccol says he remembers some players who battled cancer, blindness and a young boy born with half aheart.
Soccol offered Thomasaplace on the Challengersroster, but his father envisioneddeveloping aleague of their own and afriendly rivalry with the city’ s original special needs ballclub.
“ I know there are hundreds of special needs kids in town between5and 12 years old who need to exercise and get out of the house,” Marriello says.“ And, there are therapeutic benefits beyond the game. You’ re developing social skills and camaraderie. It’ san opportunity to be included because,
FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME Thomas Marriello and his father Robert, who is aQueens native and die-hard New York Mets fan, have started a special needs baseball league in Clifton.
as soon as they put on auniform, it makes thema team and gives asense of belonging.”
He called Soccol to“ pick his brain” for an hour about the process of building aspecial needs team.
Marriello, who coached his oldest son, Daniel, while aparticipant in the Clifton Midget League, approached the league’ s director with a minor request.
“ He asked for apatchofgrass at Albion Park so he could throw down some bases and teach specialneeds children the basics of the game,” Tyler Reed, the league’ s president, says.“ I toldhim that’ s not how we do it. His kids would get the same respect as any other team.”
“ He told me if we’ regoing to do this, we’ re going to do it right. He said,‘ You’ re getting Field No. 1 with the scoreboard.’ Iwanted to hug the guy,” says Marriello.
Reed says Marriello’ s team of 20 Clifton youths officially joined nearly
300 players from ages 5to12who playinthe 28-team league founded in 1953.
Every player has an on-field shadow to ensure they are safe and in tune withthe play on the field.
“ To see it makes you feel good as a human being, which can be hard to find these days,” says Reed, adding that the league’ s longtime uniform vendor donated the jerseysatnocost.“ It’ s going to be agoodway to feel good about what I’ ve done here the last eight years and set the league up for the next 60 years.”
Marriellosays his son could hardly contain his excitement about opening day.
“ Baseball is the sport I love most so I amexcited about having my friends on my new team,” says Thomas.
The team’ s name, P. R. A. I. S. E., is an abbreviation for Parents Requiring Action and Information for Special Education. ●
COURTESY OF MARRIELLO FAMILY
SP-22 2018 EDITION SPECIAL PARENT