'A common need:' Alternative Baseball looks to expand into Cullman County

Dec. 24—A baseball league for teens and adults with autism and other disabilities is looking to expand into Cullman County, and coaches and players are needed to help get the team ready for an opening day in 2021.

The Alternative Baseball Organization is growing rapidly, and Cullman County's team would be in a prime position to join teams that are already in the works in the Huntsville and Birmingham areas as well as other parts of the state, said ABO founder and commissioner Taylor Duncan.

Duncan, who was first diagnosed with autism at the age of 4, said he was not always able to play in competitive sports while he was growing up because of developmental delays and a negative stigma around those with autism spectrum disorder and what they can or can't accomplish.

He credited his mother, teachers, coaches and mentors for giving him great experiences both on and off the baseball diamond, and said he has been able to use that to help others who are in the same situation.

"I have been able to use my experience to mentor others and really give back to a community who really need to served and accepted for who they are and encouraged to be the best they can possibly be," he said. "We want everybody to be successful, and everybody deserves to have that same level of success."

He said he founded the Alternative Baseball Organization in 2016 with one six-person team in Cobb County, Georgia, and after word of mouth began to spread, more teams began to crop up to fill a need that was common in many parts of the country.

"With national exposure, we realized that it wasn't just an awareness campaign, it was becoming a solution for a common need throughout the disability desert across the United States," he said.

When referring to a disability desert, Duncan said he was referring to the time after high school when many of the programs available to people on the autism spectrum begin to drop off.

"What happens is that they don't have anything that fits their direct needs, and if there is, they often have to travel for it, which they shouldn't have to do," he said. "There should be something in every area."

Duncan said the ABO is meant to help fill that need in communities by offering a team sports experience while developing social skills for all other aspects of life, and lets the players make friends with others who are in the same boat as them.

Being part of the ABO has also inspired some of the league's players to follow examples set by some of their teammates and try other things that they may have shied away from before, such as learning to drive a car or getting a full-time job, Duncan said.

"They're very encouraged to achieve a lot of the same things that many may not have felt encouraged to do before," he said.

With the exception of a slightly larger and softer ball, the ABO follows MLB rules to provide an authentic baseball experience, and what Cullman County needs to get its own team started is a manager/coach to run the team, as well as players 15 years old or older who want to take part.

Players are welcome at any skill level, and coaches will take them from where they start out (whether they require to be pitched to slow overhand or hit off the tee) and help develop their physical and social skills.

Duncan said it can take around six months to a year to find coaches, players and volunteers to build a full team, so getting started now can hopefully get a team in Cullman County ready for an opening day in late spring or early summer.

Like other team sports, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused adverse effects to the ABO, and all of the league's teams had to cancel their seasons earlier this year, Duncan said.

While the pandemic meant the season had to be canceled, that didn't stop a virtual recruitment effort by the ABO to continue to expand, and Duncan said he has been making television appearances from Hawaii to Maine to get the word out about the league.

Those efforts have paid off so far in 2020, as the league has grown from 20 teams at the beginning of the year to around 70 that are looking to get started in 2021, he said.

"I felt like we were dealt a curveball and so far I feel like we've knocked it out of the park," he said.

Anyone interested in coaching, playing or volunteering for the Alternative Baseball Organization can visit alternativebaseball.org to find links to sign up or find more information.

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