GULFPORT — What began as a father’s mission to create a place where his daughter could feel included has grown into a thriving nonprofit serving hundreds of individuals with special needs on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Fifteen years ago, Mike Crawford couldn’t find a baseball league where his daughter, Emily, who has special needs, could continue playing once the games became more competitive.
“There wasn’t one that she could play in, so we just started one,” said Crawford, a retired special education teacher.
Building Buddy Sports
That first game of Buddy Ball Baseball in 2010 launched Mississippi Gulf Coast Buddy Sports, or MGCBS — a volunteer-run program that now offers year-round activities like kickball, painting, horseback riding and fishing, all free of charge for people with special needs.
“Buddy Sports and any other organization that offers activities for people with special needs is important,” he said. “It kind of levels the field and gives them an opportunity to participate in things that their parents may not normally be able to get them into.”
Participants range in age from 5 to 68. What started with about 20 players has grown to more than 140 participants and over 350 families.
Each activity is adapted to ensure everyone can take part safely. Foam balls and plastic bats are used in baseball. Volunteer “buddies” are paired with players to offer support and encouragement, and when participants need extra equipment — like adaptive saddles for horseback riding — community sponsors step in.
“You call your friend or your buddy, and you go do them — and you have easy access to them,” Crawford said. “Our (Buddy Sports) parents don’t have that easy access, and we try to provide that.”
Growing connection, community support
For Marimae Davis, 21, of Stone County, the program has changed her daily life. Her grandmother, Kathy Keen, said they struggled to find activities for her before discovering Buddy Sports.
“We couldn’t find anything around here,” Keen said. “(Her mother) was really into getting something for Marimae to do besides just sit around the house all the time.”
Davis got involved with Buddy Sports through activities like baseball, horseback riding, painting and group outings — experiences her family said weren’t available to her before.
Many of those events are made possible through community partnerships and sponsorships. For horseback riding nights, organizations like Horse Rides for Fun and the Mississippi Highway Patrol bring horses to the Harrison County Arena. Sponsors have also helped cover costs for adaptive saddles, allowing riders to remain upright without additional assistance.
“It was fun,” Davis said. “(I) rode on a horse … we went slow.”
She also enjoys buddy paint nights at Twisted Canvas, one of the program’s more recent additions. Over time, Keen said, those programs have helped Davis build friendships and a sense of independence.
“She’s able to go out with some of her friends now and go out to eat and get out of the house,” Keen said.
“All kinds of friends,” Davis added.
Building life-long bonds
Crawford said the sense of connection and inclusion the program fosters has led to steady growth — not just in numbers, but in the kinds of experiences it can offer.
As participation increased, the league outgrew its original field in Long Beach and moved to the Gulfport Sportsplex in 2019. That year also marked a period of expansion, adding more activities and family-centered events like a sensory-friendly Santa experience and an Easter egg hunt. All events are designed to be welcoming and low-pressure.
“Safety is always the first thought,” Crawford said. “Our No. 1 goal is everyone has fun and nobody gets hurt.”
He said the organization depends on hundreds of volunteers annually.
“Special needs is not just one little, small population,” he said. “It touches everybody.”
Keen encourages other families to give the program a try.
“They’re just out there to have fun, and we don’t keep score,” Crawford said. “Everybody wins.”
