Introducing PAL Sports, Lafourche’s new recreation league for children with disabilities

Lafourche Parish has recently become home to the brand-new Peer Adaptive League of Sports (PAL Sports), a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaming up volunteers with local youth with disabilities to support their participation in a wide variety of sports.

PAL Sports is open to any local children ages 4-18 with any type of disability, moderate to more serious, who are interested in participating in an extracurricular sport. The athletes are then partnered up with local volunteers ages 12 and up, who assist, support, and cheer them on throughout the practices and games.

“My husband is the Central Lafourche Baseball Association President, and we have recently had parents contacting us wondering it their child can participate in local recreation due to a certain disability,” explained PAL Sports founder Lauren Ledet. “We noticed there were minimal opportunities for recreation for kids with disabilities, and we wanted to change that with PAL Sports.”

All photos provided by PAL Sports on Facebook.

PAL Sports will offer a new sport month-by-month, with kicking off their program this September with non-contact football and cheerleading. Participants have attended practices throughout the past month, getting to know each other and honing their athletic skills.

“While our practices aren’t mandatory like other leagues, they have become a great opportunity for kids to get that social, emotional and physical development, while getting to know their Pals,” explained Lauren Ledet, founder of PAL Sports. “It has been wonderful to see.”

Football and cheerleading participants and their Pals will show off their skills at their official game on Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 5:00 at the Raceland Recreation Football Field. Community members are invited to watch the game, and this is an excellent opportunity to get a first-hand look at what PAL Sports is all about.

Ledet continued, stating that she noticed a trend where not every child wanted to participate in each sport offered– so registration for PAL Sports will take place on a monthly basis. Registration will open on Saturday, September 28, 2024 for October’s sport, which will be soccer. Participants and volunteers can register in-person at the football game, or via their Facebook page.

“Seeing the amount of support we have received from the community has been an amazing experience. It’s wonderful to know how many people are willing to come lend a hand,” said Ledet. “We can’t wait to see where PAL Sports goes in the future.”

For more information about PAL Sports, please visit their above Facebook link.