NubAbility Athletic Foundation Sports Clinic
The NubAbility Athletic Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation that helps children with limb-loss, will host a clinic in conjunction with the Minnesota Twins on Dec. 30 at Hammond Stadium at the CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers. The clinic, “#DontNeed2 to Play Ball,” will provide amputees and children with limb loss from ages 4 to 17 with instruction and mentorship in baseball and softball. The event is sponsored by Ruby & Pearl’s Boutique & Yoga and the Mona Lisa Italian Restaurant in Fort Myers.
For a $10 registration fee, participants will receive a full day of training and guidance from NubAbility Head Coach Sam Kuhnert and other NubAbility baseball and softball coaches, who are all accomplished limb-different athletes. A variety of professional and collegiate players and coaches will assist with the coaching.
Participants will be divided into groups based on age and experience. Youth with upper-limb differences will focus on glove exchanges, batting stances and defensive maneuvers. Those with lower-limb differences will work on agility, footwork and batting stances. All athletes will be instructed according to their adaptive need on how to take their game to the next level in areas including pitching, hitting and fielding. “We’ll cover all the bases with these youth,” Kuhnert said. “When they leave at the end of the day, they’ll have learned new skills and new drills to continue to improve at home, and hopefully, they’ll walk away with the confidence to walk onto the field next season and shine.”
In addition to the other sponsors, the Stephanie Decker Foundation has made a $500 donation toward the clinic. Decker lost her legs as she protected her children from a tornado that devastated their Indiana home in 2012. She spent weeks in the hospital recovering, but she was standing on her prosthetic legs two months after the collapse of her home. Since then, she has traveled the country as a motivational speaker, inspiring groups to take on new challenges and discover their inner heroes. Her foundation has raised more than $80,000 to support children with prosthetic limbs pursue their athletic dreams. Decker is also one of ten finalists for the L’Oreal Paris “Women of Worth” contest, and if she wins, she will donate $5,000 to the NubAbility Athletic Foundation in support of their efforts.
The clinic runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Registration fees include lunch and commemorative keepsakes, including a T-shirt and wristband. While the event is focused on amputees and children with limb loss, the afternoon portion of the session, beginning at 12:30, will be open to all youth baseball and softball players for $25. To register for the camp, visit http://www.nubability.org and click on “Camps & Clinics.”
About NubAbility
NubAbility Athletic Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit that serves kids with limb-loss, congenitally or amputee, from ages 4 to 17. NubAbility’s goal is to get kids with limb differences out of the stands, off the bench and into the game. Participants leave full of newfound courage and confidence and with a motivation to succeed. Founded by Coach Sam Kuhnert, NubAbility works to encourage, inspire and instruct congenital and traumatic amputee kids. The coaching team includes over 25 limb-different athletes. For more information, visit http://www.nubability.org or the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/NubAbility.