Sports Planner Quarterly Newsletter
Sports Planner Quarterly Newsletter - 2024 Q1 - Adaptable Sports
Adaptable Sports
We believe every person, no matter their age or ability, deserves access to the sports they love, including opportunities to play! Learn more about the Butler County leagues and locales where adaptable participation is celebrated!
Miracle League of Southwestern PA
- The Miracle League of Southwestern PA believes that, “Every child deserves a chance to play baseball”, and UPMC Passavant Sportsplex at Graham Park is championing their cause. Thanks to a generous donation from the Pittsburgh Pirates Charities and former Pirate second baseman Freddy Sanchez, the Pirates Charities Miracle League Field was constructed to host young athletes with special needs.
- With an all-weather rubberized terrain and no raised surfaces, the “Miracle” Field is handicap accessible and accommodating for crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs. A player drop-off area facilitates easy access to the field, and a large parking lot is available within short walking distance.
- Further equipped with an electronic scoreboard, a public address system, storage shed, drinking fountain, restroom facilities, and covered dugouts as well as a covered pavilion, special needs athletes and their families can enjoy a traditional baseball game day in comfort and style!
Sled Hockey League at UPMC Lemieux Center
- A sled, an ice rink, and a hockey stick are a unique opportunity for a disabled athlete. The Pittsburgh Mighty Penguins Sled Hockey organization at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex provides the freedom for special needs players to explore a sport and build a team – both on and off the ice.
- Hosting 185,000 square feet of total space dedicated to “treating, training, and inspiring athletes at every level”, The UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex is not only the primary practice and training facility for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it is also home to the region’s premier coaching staff, the highest quality of training equipment, and the rinks that make sled hockey possible.
- Complete with two full-size hockey rinks and 14 locker rooms, special needs hockey players at all skill levels can experience the thrill of the open ice in a space devoted to their health, happiness, and freedom.
- Last year, for the first time in its 25-year history, the Mighty Penguins Sled Hockey organization sent four teams to an out-of-state USA Hockey Disabled Hockey Festival, set in St. Louis, MO. Two of their adult teams returned to Pittsburgh as champions in their divisions.
Slippery Rock University - Your Next Athletic Destination!
A 660-acre plot in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania is devoted to excellence and growth. Slippery Rock University may exercise minds in the classroom, but nearly every other square inch of the campus serves as a workout of the body. Inside or outside, from Harmony Road to Franklin Street, SRU is your next athletic destination!
Sports
- Whatever the season, whatever the sport, SRU offers a means to engage in it. Football, baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, field hockey, softball, volleyball, track & field and lacrosse represent a selection of the sports activities available for both SRU students and members of the Slippery Rock community to actively partake in or enjoy as spectators.
- The University hosts cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track & field for those who just love to run! Community members can “hit that runner’s high” in diverse landscapes and terrain or register for the many 5Ks the University hosts throughout the year. including the Color Run – a fun and color-filled 3.106 miles where participants are dusted in rainbow-hued powder along the track.
- If a walk with a Frisbee is more your speed, Slippery Rock University is still a challenge. Home to the town’s disc golf course, SRU’s hilly – albeit gorgeous – terrain makes the game both a feat of endurance and skill!
Facilities
- Critchfield Park - One of the most renowned on-campus baseball facilities in the country can be found in our own backyard. Slippery Rock University’s Critchfield Park hosts 1,500 seats in addition to covered bleacher seats, and in 2002, received the second largest crowd to attend an NCAA Division II regular-season baseball game. With an artificial playing surface, a luxurious clubhouse, covered batting cages, and a press box, this stadium promotes an MLB environment within a small-town atmosphere.
- William C. Lennox Track - Seating 10,000, the William C. Lennox Track facilitates everything track and field. Additionally, the stadium’s concrete throwing circles for discus, hammer, and shot put as well as its safety cages for discus and hammer make SRU the perfect location for major competitions, including the PSAC Outdoor Championships in 2004, 2011, and 2018.
- James Egli Field - Home to the Rock’s men’s and women’s soccer teams, the James Egli Field is one of the best grass playing fields in western Pennsylvania. Not only does it offer underground drainage and irrigation systems, keeping the “pitch” shielded from the elements, but its extensive renovations have updated the Field’s appearances.
- The Bob DiSpirito Field at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium is the home field for the Rock’s football, field hockey, and lacrosse games as well as select home soccer games. In addition to a weight room, large locker rooms, and coaching offices, Mihalik-Thompson offers full-service athletic training facilities located on both sides of the stadium.
- Morrow Field House serves as the home court for the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the volleyball team. With a capacity of 3,000 for basketball setup and 2,000 for volleyball, Morrow Field House is a prime location for game days across the division. In addition, the field house houses a 200-meter indoor track and field facility, two of the primary weight training facilities on campus, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
- Kasnevich Field is one of the top school-specific softball complexes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. One of the only schools in the PSAC and the Atlantic Region with chairback seats at its softball field as well as coach offices and locker rooms at the field. Kasnevich Field and the Rock’s Softball Complex also feature a bullpen and batting cages for full practice and training opportunities.
- SRU’s tennis courts have hosted multiple Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoff and NCAA Tournament matches. Alongside the hardcourts, six turfed courts remain open to use by the campus community.