MCALLEN -- It's America's favorite past time, but for some children, playing baseball wasn't always an option.
"They tell me they want to play baseball," said Mike Sanchez, father of three.
Two of his children have autism and their special needs have kept them away from playing baseball with other kids their age.
"If my children were ever to say, 'Dad, I don't want to play,' I can't live with that. It's not having the opportunity to play and wanting to play that makes it difficult," said Sanchez.
But soon, Sanchez's sons will have somewhere they can play with other kids.
Sanchez is teaming up with the Boys and Girls Club of McAllen to give kids like his the opportunity to play on the field.
They're starting the Challenger League, a baseball league for kids with special needs.
"It doesn't matter what the disability is, whether you're in a wheelchair, you're autistic, mentally challenged...we want kids to come out and play and have fun," said Normalynda Zepeda, resource developer at the Boys and Girls Club of McAllen.
This is the club’s second attempt to start the league with Sanchez.
They said that last year, there wasn't enough interest to put it together, but they said they think this year it'll happen.
They hope to start registering kids in May.
The Boys and Girls Club of McAllen is hosting a parent meeting for parents with children with disabilities who'd like to participate.
The meeting is Wednesday, April 14 at 7 p.m. in the Brand Unit located at 2620 W. Galveston in McAllen.
For more information contact the Boys and Girls Club sports department at 687-3910 or Mike Sanchez at 534-8130.
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