Isotopes host adaptive baseball clinic for local players with disabilities

The Albuquerque Isotopes turned Roadrunner Little League into a more accessible baseball field for a morning that was built around participation, not spectatorship. Children and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities cycled through modified stations for pitching, hitting, throwing, baserunning and agility, using a mostly turf field designed to be easier for wheelchairs and for players who need a flatter surface.

The club called it its fifth annual Adaptive Baseball Clinic, a sign the event has become more than a one-off clinic. It ran from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 6, at Roadrunner Little League, 10700 Lagrima De Oro Rd. NE in Albuquerque, and it was free. Eldorado High School baseball and softball players joined volunteers from the adaptive community to help run the drills, extending the day’s reach beyond Isotopes staff and giving local players a chance to see older athletes in coaching roles.

The Isotopes have tried to make the clinic part of a wider pathway into baseball in Bernalillo County. In 2025, the club said its adaptive clinic drew 79 participants from around New Mexico, with Aaron Schunk, Bradley Blalock, Gabriel Hughes, Trevor Boone and pitching coach Chris Michalak helping lead drills. The organization has also tied the clinic to Minor League Baseball’s PLAY BALL Weekend, a leaguewide youth engagement push that mixes clinics and community events across clubs.

That continuity matters in a county where families often have to piece together recreation opportunities on their own. The Isotopes’ first adaptive youth skills clinic in 2022 was open to children ages 5 to 15, and the team said at the time it had worked with Kerry Tingley Children’s Hospital, Climbing Tree Therapy, Special Olympics and Autism New Mexico to improve accessibility. The event began as a way to give every child the chance to play and has since settled into the club’s annual calendar.

For parents, the value goes beyond a morning on the field. Audrianna Tafoya said her 5-year-old son Isaiah, who is on the autism spectrum, was gaining confidence through the chance to participate and learn to throw a ball. That is the larger test for inclusive recreation in Bernalillo County: whether a free clinic can do more than entertain for a day and instead help children and adults build comfort, social connection and the confidence to keep coming back.