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The Alternative Baseball Organization for males and females ages 15 years and up with a variety of developmental disabilities was formed in Georgia in 2016 by Taylor Duncan, who himself has high-functioning autism.
Duncan, 25, began the organization with two teams in Georgia's Cobb and Paulding counties, and in five years, the circuit has expanded to 80 teams in 34 states.
Duncan hopes to bring a team to Altoona, and that process has already started, but he is still looking for an individual to step forward to manage the team.
"I believe that we've gotten a couple of volunteers to respond in Altoona who are willing to perform field duties like working the concession stands, but we definitely need a manager over there,'' Duncan, who lives in Dallas, Ga., said in a recent telephone interview.
"We've made progress in other areas in Altoona, but once we find that head honcho (to manage the team), we'll be able to continue moving forward, and to get more of a framework in place.''
Any individual interested in managing a team in Altoona should log on to the Alternative Baseball Organization's website at www.alternativebaseball.org. to set up an appointment for consideration.
Players in the Alternative Baseball Organization have disabilities that include, but are not limited to, autism, cerebral palsy, attention-deficit disorder, Down syndrome, Asperger syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder and fetal alcohol syndrome.
Since many of the players have compromised immune systems, their risk of contracting COVID-19 or complications from COVID are heightened. Therefore, the onset of the pandemic across the United States in 2020 largely put a halt to the Alternative Baseball Organization's proceedings for 2020.
This year, even though there is currently no requirement for players and coaches in the organization to be vaccinated against COVID, games, scrimmages and practices for teams have resumed, without incident.
"Games have been played across the country this year, and nobody has contracted COVID,'' Duncan said. "We haven't had a single case.
"We had a celebrity classic game in Rochester, Minn., this past July where one of our teams played a game against community leaders there to raise awareness about our organization,'' added Duncan, who also pointed out that similar events were held in West Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana without any COVID cases occurring. "There are no mask mandates for outdoor activities currently, but I highly encourage the use of masks in the dugouts. Our managers keep us posted as to whether any COVID cases occur.''
Duncan said that in Pennsylvania, the new Chester County team in suburban Philadelphia held scrimmages this year, and a new team was formed in Washington County south of Pittsburgh, with plans to start activities this fall.