Venice Challenger athletes to play on their 'Field of Dreams' Saturday
Earle Kimel
VENICE – The long-awaited Venice Challenger Baseball field will be open this weekend, with a 4:30 p.m. season-opening game Saturday – the program's first action since the spring 2020 season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The “Field of Dreams” was the passion project of the late Rich Carroll, the league founder who died in July at 72.
His wife Nancy Carroll and son Rich Carroll Jr. will cut the ribbon on the new field Friday in a ceremony that is closed because of COVID-19 concerns.
Spectators are welcome Saturday, when the teams take the field at 4:30 p.m., with masks encouraged.
The field is at 920 Gulf Coast Blvd., Venice, behind the Robert & Joan Lee Boys & Girls Club.
“It’s been a year and a half since COVID,” said Steve Price, now the head coach and chaplain for the all-inclusive Challenger Division, which operates under the auspices and insurance of Venice Little League.
Some players have Down syndrome, and others are autistic. Some walk with canes, while others wheel around the base paths.
While Saturday will be the first official game, which will kick off a 10-game schedule, several athletes gathered at the field for a practice game in July that was live-streamed so Carroll could watch them in action from his hospital bed.
The two fields are tailor-made for Challenger ball. The rubberized field has a fence about 150-feet from home plate, while the one with a grass infield has them 180 feet away.
The hope is that many of the athletes will clear the fences and circle the bases in celebration.
Price said the plan on Saturday is to treat each athlete as a celebrity, with introductions before the game.
Members of the Venice High School baseball team are scheduled to serve as buddies for the athletes in the field.
Lasting legacy:Venice Challenger Baseball to be the lasting legacy of Rich Carroll Sr.
More:Venice Challenger athletes gather at 'Field of Dreams' to write get-well cards for coach
Volunteers from One Christ Won City are planning to cook hot dogs and hamburgers for the athletes.
Lisa Guscette, Challenger’s marketing director and primary photographer, said they’re also hoping to make either a patch for the athletes to wear on their T-shirt or a sticker for their helmets to honor Rich Carroll Sr.
“The kids loved him, he loved the kids,” Guscette said. “We’re just all going to step in and do the best we can do to try and continue.”
While the fields themselves are ready, there is an ongoing fundraising effort to pay for stadium lighting, spectator, player dugout and playground shading and corn hole area. For more information, visit. venicechallengerbaseball.org/.
Guscette stressed that it was important the thank all those who had donated money, contributed materials and, at times volunteer labor, to help the fields become a reality.
“The biggest thing for us as a Challenger organization, on behalf of Rich Carroll, Nancy Carroll and Rich Jr. is to be able to thank our supporters and the people who believed in us and supported us these many years for fundraising and helping make this dream come true.”
Interested?
• To learn more about being a volunteer buddy for the Challenger Division or to donate, visit https://venicechallengerbaseball.org/ The Flanzer Philanthropic Trust has offered to match any donation up to $500. Donations can be made online or Checks can be made payable to the Louis & Gloria Flanzer Philantropic Trust, 1843 Floyd Street, Sarasota, FL 34239.
Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County for the Herald-Tribune and can be reached at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Herald-Tribune.