In the inaugural Little League Challenger Jamboree last Sunday, Hollister played Santa Cruz in Aptos.
In addition to having the Hollister and Santa Cruz teams meet each other, the goal was to spread the word about the division in hopes it will grow with time. If Hollister’s program is any indication, the Challenger Division is here to stay.
“Everyone from the sponsors to the coaches to the kids to Little League are stepping up and making this possible,” said Adam Mendolla, the vice president of the Hollister Little League Challenger Division. “We just finished our spring season, and it was an incredible experience.”
In addition to the spring season, Hollister’s Challenger Division has a longer fall season, running from August through the end of October. The division consists of two teams—the A’s and Giants—with four coaches and approximately 11 players on each squad.
The players—who range in age from 5 to 22—all have special needs, whether it’s physical or mental challenges. However, each player has a buddy, someone who either helps the player throw, bat, run and walk on the basepaths.
Most of the buddies are from Hollister’s Little League, and the turnout has been so overwhelming that at times there were more buddies than players.
A team from Hollister’s Majors Division, the Cubs, showed up nearly every weekend to support the Challenger team, which plays its games at Veterans Park on Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Hollister’s Challenger Division was re-started just a year ago, after it was initially established five or six years ago by Matt Plesek, who tragically died in a car accident shortly thereafter.
Leeandra Archdeacon, the former vice president of the division, along with Hollister Little League President Greg Lopez, District 9 President Ramon Valenzuela and Challenger Division coaches Kevin and Christi Clark, were key figures in getting the league up and running again.
Just like any league, however, it cannot survive without financial support. That’s where sponsors come in, and Mendolla said the division’s two major sponsors—Pace Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. and Hollister Firefighter Union 3395—have been instrumental in their support.
“These guys have said that as long as we’re playing, we’ll have a sponsor,” Mendolla said. “They’ve been great, and we’re expecting a third sponsor to step up soon.”
Mendolla added the division has been the recipient of generous people like Gene Zanger, who is the co-owner of Casa de Fruta. Zanger reserved space at the beautiful facility for Hollister’s season-ending awards ceremony on May 10.
“Gene literally paved the road for us that day,” Mendolla said. “The kids had a great time, and we can’t thank him enough for his generosity and spirit.”
Of course, none of this would be possible without the support and backing of Little League, which has supported a national Challenger Division for 25 years. Hollister’s Little League has provided tremendous backing in forming their own Challenger Division, supporting the league in all of its endeavors.
Mendolla said players from the A’s and Giants admire the players from Hollister’s Little League, along with members of Hollister’s Fire Department, who play the Challenger team at least once every season.
In the recently completed spring season, the kids all had walk-up songs—if they so desired—because the division had an announcer for the first time in Kevin Clark, who provided plenty of entertainment by playing songs and announcing the lineups.
“The kids had so much fun with their walk-up songs, but some of them were a bit on the risqué side, so we had to do some condensing,” Mendolla said, laughing. “We were able to go all out this past season.”
The goal of every Challenger Division is simple: Help the developmentally and physically challenged youth become a part of the community. It’s apparent Hollister’s league has done just that, as there is a strong possibility of a third team being added in the near future.
“We want to keep on growing and provide a great experience for the kids,” Mendolla said. “You take a step back sometimes and look how far we’ve come, and it’s amazing. Even from the beginning of this last season, when it was just uncontrolled chaos on the first day. To go from that to our closing ceremonies, where the kids accepted the awards by themselves, you can’t put a price on that. You can tell they gained a lot and grasped some life lessons on their own.”
