SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Alternative Baseball is a baseball league for teens and adults with special needs.
The program was formed by Taylor Duncan, and now he's trying to create a team in central Illinois.
Duncan was diagnosed with autism at the age of four.
"I had speech issues, sensory issues and anxiety issues growing up," Duncan said.
According to Duncan, he never let his diagnosis define him.
"When people say I'm not capable of doing things, that stuff is not possible, what I do is say here, let me show you," Duncan said.
Duncan worked to combine who he is with what he loves, and he loves baseball.
"I've always been a big fan," Duncan said. "I've always been watching TBS with my grandmother, watching the Atlanta Braves."
As a teenager, Duncan started running the bases in his own life. At the age of 12, he started playing baseball. He said the sport gave him the confidence to do anything.
"I learned how to deal with winning properly, and I learned how to deal with losing," Duncan said. "I basically learned when you fall down, you have to get back up."
According to Duncan, that confidence would fade after being thrown a couple curve balls.
"I faced a lot of social stigma and the perception of peers and coaches, who thought they knew what one with autism can and cannot accomplish," Duncan said. "That often prevented me from having the same opportunities, as others my age, to play traditional baseball."
Duncan wouldn't let his disability strike him out. In 2016, Duncan started Alternative Baseball.
"I wanted to give back to others, just like myself, that didn't have the same luxuries as I did to play traditional sports," Duncan said.
Alternative Baseball provides an authentic baseball experience for teens and adults with autism and other special needs.
"Autism doesn't stop at age 18, at least nobody told me it did," Duncan said. "Really, we're there to serve those over the age of 15, and we don't have a maximum age limit in our league."
Over the past four years, the baseball league that started in Atlanta has expanded to 40 teams in 17 states. Now, Duncan is reaching out to people in central Illinois so a team can be formed here.
"We're looking for the coach, manager to help us do the programs. We can have one in Springfield, one in Champaign or one wherever," Duncan said. "We just have to find coach, have the community support with the volunteers, and of course, we need the players."
Duncan said its about helping people power through perceptions, both on and off the baseball field.
"It's the beauty of America's past time. It's the beauty of team sports," Duncan said. "We all get an equal chance to contribute, and it's an opportunity for us to have our own breakthroughs."
Anyone interested in signing up to coach a team in the area can click here to visit the Alternative Baseball website.
