Baseball Camp with the Minnesota Twins

By Danielle Landreville, North Dakota H&V

This past June, Deaf Equity and the Minnesota Twins partnered up for the second year to offer a baseball clinic specifically for Deaf/hard of hearing youth. This meant picking up my son, Hunter, from one camp in Garrison, North Dakota, and driving all the way to St. Paul, Minnesota so we could be ready for this fun event the next morning. We pretty much spent all of Friday driving to make attending this possible. Still, when there is a Deaf event that Hunter can participate in, we try to make it happen.

And what an awesome event it was. The Twins trainers were there to teach the kids, and Deaf Equity provided what seemed like tons of interpreters and Deaf/Hard of hearing and Deafblind adult role models. At the baseball clinic, young athletes, ages 6-18, learned how to bat, throw and field. Safety rules were enforced, and everyone had a good time.

I especially loved how the staff and volunteers met everyone where they were, and were fully respected and included any mode of communication. Some parents and kids didn’t sign, some did, and some didn’t sign fluently. Regardless, there was no judgment, just friendly interaction.  Everyone wanted to teach the kids the fundamental skills of baseball and ensure that they had fun together.
I was glad to learn that I could register a hearing sibling, which the staff welcomed. Both brothers enjoyed the clinic day together and it was a good experience for them. We left with some fun Twins swag and my oldest son even scored a new Twins mitt just for lefties. I know he won’t forget the experience. When I asked about what he liked best, Hunter said it was special to him that everyone could sign with him and that real people from the Twins were teaching him how to play.

Many thanks to Deaf Equity and the Minnesota Twins for creating this wonderful event for kids. They were able to get instruction in a lifetime sport that can be so hard to access with a lack of interpreting for coaches in our rural areas. We hope it is held again next year.   ~