SWING FOR THE FENCES
Program Purpose: Have fun playing sports, while educating participants about
what it is like to live with a disability and how inclusion is integral to our community.
Note: This program should start inside, somewhere where the YouTube clip can be
shown. After the clip and the intro, everyone should go outside to a park or field,
preferably a baseball field.
Supplies: Apples, oranges, or another round fruit of that size (it’s better to have too many, so that you
can make sure that everyone gets a chance to participate), a baseball bat, a computer, speakers and a
TV or projector screen to show the clip, enough blindfolds for all the people in one group to use at one
time.
***When running this program, you should have a rain plan in case you can’t go outside.
(5 Minutes) Give a short intro to the program and expand on the following. For many of us, sports play a
major role in our lives. Many of us play on sports teams, both in and out of school. But there are many
people, who cannot do this with as much ease. They have to live their entire lives with unique challenges,
but that doesn’t mean that they can’t enjoy athletics or play with teens like us. Here, let me prove it to you.
(10 Minutes) Show Make A Wish Foundation with the Colorado Rockies from YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saqBB-7Zmlo (This video is really great – play it through fully.)
(10 Minutes) Split the group into 3 teams and have everybody introduce themselves, say their grade and
who their most inspirational athlete is and why.
(30 Minutes) Each team runs through one of 3 rotations. You can easily come up with additional
challenges that are like the following examples to offer insight as to what others have to manage
with given any range of disabilities.
 Fruit Baseball: This connects directly to the make a wish clip. People who live with disabilities
are playing an unfair game, but they are still swinging for the fences. Go to a field, and let people
take turns trying to hit the fruit with the baseball bat. They will see that it doesn’t go far, but still
keep on swinging. Don’t allow the game to get too silly; ensure that the message is maintained
the whole time.
 Have someone explain how to play ‘Ninja’, and have the group start. After a practice round, tell
everyone to rest on their knees, and explain that they cant move their legs. Losing one part of
their body will make the game tougher, but will force them to rely more on other parts of the body.
 Do a wheelbarrow race, but make it a zigzag course. Once everyone gets a partner and is
ready, go around and blindfold the partner on the ground. Without having such a crucial sense,
they will have to focus more on teamwork with their partners.
(15 Minutes) Wrap Up Discussion: Talk about what the lessons learned are, and try to have everyone
speak. Are there things that your chapter/council/region could be doing to engage with other Jewish teens
with varying needs? What might be a neat event or project you could do in the coming months? What
Jewish values tie to this type of community building?