Miracle League partnership is life changing, for all involved
Weekly baseball games bring Badgers and area youth together for inspiring evenings
Andy Baggot
7/27/2023
It's not often that you walk away from a new experience humbled, grateful and inspired at the same time, but that was Riley Nowakowski at the end of an exquisite summer evening earlier this month.
A redshirt junior tight end for the Wisconsin football team, Nowakowski had just joined 24 of his fellow student-athletes on assignment for Badgers Give Back. The group – men and women from a cross section of UW sports – had piled into vans and made the trek from campus to suburban Cottage Grove where some amazing people were waiting.
The Miracle League of Dane County was staging another round of baseball games at Bakken Park and UW student-athletes were there to support the participants. Kids with physical and cognitive issues wore the uniforms of the Brewers and White Sox, playing on a specially made field while family members cheered from the bleachers.
When it was over, Nowakowski spoke of the experience in reverent tones.
"Every time I do this it puts my life back in perspective," he said. "It gives me an appreciation for everything I have. Every time I feel like I want to complain, I think of these kids, smiling and happy."
Some of the kids are in wheelchairs. Some have balance issues. Some are non-verbal. Many need some type of assistance, whether it be from a care-giver or one of the UW volunteers.
Marianne Picard, a redshirt freshman forward with the women's hockey team, said the experience has changed her forever.
"As a person and an athlete, too," she said. "I'm more grateful for what I have."
Abby Wanezek, a freshman from Elm Grove with the women's swimming team, was asked why volunteering for such an assignment was so important to her.
"Just seeing the reaction on the kids' faces, seeing how much fun they're having and the impact that it's creating, I really want this to be a life-lasting memory," she said. “I hope it is.
"It feels great to be out with these kids. I didn't know something like this would feel this way. The reward I feel – how happy I'm feeling inside – is the highlight of my week."
Bill Schultz, the founder and executive director of the Miracle League of Dane County, didn't know what to think about this arrangement when he first sat down earlier this year with Jackie Davenport, the UW assistant athletic director for community relations.
Schultz had seen first-hand the impact of UW student-athlete visits to American Family Children's Hospital in recent years – he's a volunteer there – and was hoping to replicate it for the Miracle League.
"She was really sold on the idea," he said.
An email to UW student-athletes about signing up for the Miracle League experience initially triggered an overwhelming response, according to Schultz, but he wondered about its staying power. He worried about volunteers being turned off by the slow pace of the games and that 15 or so would re-up.
"They all came back," he said happily.
Schultz grew up loving baseball, but was devastated as an 8-year-old when the commissioner of his local Little League barred him from playing due to congenital deformities. Schultz's right leg was amputated – he's worn an artificial limb since he was 2 – and his left arm and hand were shorter and smaller than normal.
In 2018, Schultz learned about the Miracle League from a national TV news feature, how the organization helps communities build special baseball fields to accommodate kids with physical and/or cognitive challenges. He helped lead an initiative that raised $500,000 to help build the field, which opened in June of 2021.
It's a venue that you have to see to appreciate. It has a rubberized surface that allows all users a safe journey around the bases. A scoreboard in centerfield includes pictures and names of those playing. A public address announcer calls out the name of each batter and popular ballpark music – from "Jump Around" to "Stayin' Alive" – can be heard between innings and whenever there's a lull in the action. Each game begins with every player being introduced to the crowd.
At various junctures of the game you could see UW student-athletes engaged with the kids. Over here, a young girl sat on the lap of Britta Curl, a graduating senior from the women's hockey team. Over there, Nathanial Vakos, a sophomore kicker for the football team, showed a young boy pictures on his cell phone.
Vakos, from Avon, Ohio, said he was a youth volunteer throughout high school and loved every minute of it.
"This is something I'd do in a heartbeat every week," he said. "You learn a lot from these kids.
"We're so blessed to have these opportunities, to play collegiate sports. For kids like this that don't maybe have the opportunities to go and do the things they've always wanted to do, to allow them to have a smile on their face and come out and play baseball is really special."
What has Vakos learned about himself from the experience?
"You really grow closer bonds with people that might not be able to understand you as well," he said. "You begin to develop more in-depth relations by learning about people."
Vakos and Gavin Meyers, a redshirt junior punter, have made a connection with a boy named Jacob.
"A little fireball," Vakos said. "He loves his baseball cap. He'll run forever. He's always playing these little games. He loves being out here."
Nowakowski, from Milwaukee, said he's learned to be more patient and adaptable.
"The ability to connect with people in ways that aren't verbal," he said. "These kids, not all of them talk. You have to build a connection. You have to be a comforting presence."
Meyers, from Oshkosh, said the benefits go both ways.
"Making their day makes my day," he said. "It's really cool to have that back and forth. They bring a lot of energy to this. We bring a lot of energy to this, so it's really fun. I'm definitely going to be doing this some more."
Schultz said the gratitude he feels for the UW student-athletes has roots in their embrace of the moment. He said he's personally thanked each one. Their responses?
"No, thank you," Schultz said. "And it's genuine."
Schultz called the arrangement with Badgers Give Back a "win-win." He's already thinking about expanding the program next year.
"What I'm thrilled about is not only the impact on the kids, but the impact on the athletes," he said. "I think they got inspired by these kids.
"Watching the interaction with the athletes and the children was just heart-warming. The athletes really got into it as far as encouraging the kids. You watch these football players putting these kids on their shoulders and walking around with them or just encouraging them, helping them get set up to bat.
"These athletes are so positive in their attitude. The kids look up to them physically and otherwise. You can see them beaming with smiles when the athletes show up."
Picard, from Repentigny, Quebec, said she's learned that she's more patient than she thought and now has a greater sense of what some of the Miracle kids go through.
"I was worried they wouldn't understand my (French) accent, but they understand me," she said.
The UW student-athletes seem to have their priorities straight.
"Giving back to the community is the most important thing," Picard said.
"It's always nice to make these kids' days," Meyers said. "Seeing the smile on their faces brightens my day."
All told, it's an enduring experience.
"I'll remember these days as long as I live," Vakos said.
Gallery: Miracle League 2023
