Marines Help Special-Needs Players Swing for the Fences

Every Tuesday and Saturday, a group of Marines volunteer their time on a Temecula baseball field, helping kids with special needs enjoy the game at their own pace.

The Temecula Valley American Little League’s Challenger Division has a motto: No strikes. No outs. Everybody plays. Everybody wins. When Capt. Dustin Maggard—an avionics officer with Marine Aircraft Group 39—heard about the program, he not only decided to register his daughter, who struggles with disabilities, he became a coach.

Maggard spread the word about the need for volunteers, and now more than 18 Marines help out twice a week, providing role models for kids facing tough challenges.

“A lot of the kids might not know what these Marines do, or even what a Marine is. All they know is they come to every practice and every game to help them play a sport that they love,” said Phil Brown, director of the Temecula Valley Challenger Baseball Program. “The Marines have become an integral part of this organization, because they do everything and anything they can to ensure these kids can play ball. Without the Marines, we wouldn’t have the season we’ve had.”

Read a full report on the bond between the Challenger Division and the Marine Corps on the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing’s website.