Doug Coates

Riley's Winning Catch Doug Coates

Riley is a typical thirteen-year-old girl. She loves reading, singing, and sports, but her favorite thing in the world is softball. She loves everything about softball, from watching games on TV to dreaming of being on the local girls' recreational team. But Riley has never played softball. The closest she's gotten is catching a tennis ball with her dad once in a while.

And there's another thing keeping Riley from pursuing her dreams: she's afraid of being rejected by her teammates and the coaches, because Riley has Down syndrome. That means she's a little different from other teenage girls. It's sometimes difficult to understand her when she speaks, and her coordination and demeanor isn't quite like the others.

Still, unbeknownst to her parents, Riley has been watching the local girls' team practice and play games for the last two seasons, and one day, the head coach encourages Riley to join the practice and soon the team. The coach instills good character values in her team, along with some excellent softball skills. That's when Riley learns of the Miracle League for special needs children, and it's like all her dreams have come true.