Twenty players and volunteers with the Darien Challenger Baseball Team are getting a baseball lover's dream trip Thursday to Fenway Park.
The players -- mostly from Darien, but also from New Canaan, Weston and Bethel -- will practice on the field, get an inside tour of the locker rooms and the rest of the stadium as well as batting tips from a Red Sox coach. At the end of the day, they get free tickets to Thursday night's game.
They'll also get lunch in the team dugout and perhaps a chance to meet some of the Red Sox players, who will be at the stadium for batting practice.
The trip is courtesy of CVS Caremark and the Boston Red Sox. Each year, the company and the team invite a New England challenger teams to the stadium, and this year it's the Darien team is one of several teams invited to Fenway Park.
"I'd really like to thank the Red Sox and CVS Caremark," said Darien Challengers Coach Mike Donoghue. "This is a tremendous thing they do to create an incredible experience for our kids."
In recent decades, challenger baseball teams have been started by local little leagues for kids with various disabilities, including kids in wheelchairs, blind children and those with autism or Down's Syndrome. Darien has one of the older teams in Connecticut, and it includes some kids from nearby towns, especially New Canaan.
Donoghue isn't certain how Darien was selected for this year's honor. He speculated that it may be because the Darien team has 35 players (about 25 from Darien itself) along with 16 volunteers, mostly Darien High School students who work with the kids and cheer them on. "We're one of the larger programs, we think, in New England," Donoghue said.
The 12 kids going on the trip include nine from Darien and one each from New Canaan, Weston and Bethel. Eight volunteers are also going on the trip, Donoghue said.
Donoghue coached regular Darien Little League baseball for years before becoming the challenger coach three years ago. He took over for Charlie Santos-Bush, who had founded the team and coached it for many years.
"I get more from them [the kids in the program], than they get from me," Donoghue said. The same applies to the high school volunteers, called "buddies," which may be why there's a waiting list to become a buddy.
The kids in the program "are all cheering for each other. They love to be part of the team. [...] They're so happy. They take instruction really well. It's just a wonderful group of kids."
The CVS All Kids Can Baseball Camp Program is "a five-year, $25 million commitment to making life easier for children with disabilities," according to the program's website. "Through this signature program, CVS Caremark and the Trust will support nonprofit organizations that provide innovative programs and services in local communities focused on helping children with disabilities learn, play and succeed in life.
With Darien so close to New York City, this is one area where the Yankees are more popular than the rival Red Sox, although there are fans of both among the kids in the Darien Challengers.
Donoghue said the fans of the Bronx Bombers have been told not to wear Yankees team t-shirts during the visit.
Correction: The Darien team is one of several going to Fenway Park, not the only team, as stated in an earlier version of this article.
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