My name is Rachel Reese and I live on Lake Page Drive. I am married to Jay Reese and we have three boys (Cooper 11, Jack 9, and Charlie 6). We have lived in Halle since 2012 and have loved living close to so many wonderful friends. I am the full-time Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) at Bailey Station Elementary and Jay is the School Safety Specialist for Collierville Schools. Our boys attend the Best School Ever! We are also members at Harvest Church.

As a SLP, I often sit in meetings with parents of students who struggle to make connections outside of their classroom. I hear parents talk about wanting to find a way for their child to make friends, experience social opportunities, and be a part of the community. I decided I wanted to start a baseball league for people with special needs in Collierville but was not sure how to do it. A chance meeting with Amy Henson at St. Patrick’s Presbyterian Church led to the development of Field of Friends. It is important to add that I have zero athletic ability so starting any kind of sports team was foreign to me but I knew we could do it and I knew it would be worth it. Our first season had four teams and 40 players. This last season, we had 6 teams and approximately 90 players. For Field of Friends, any person who has special needs is able to sign up for free. We accept ages 3 and up (we had a 64 year old play one season). Each player is assigned at least one buddy for the season. The job of the buddy is to help the player catch, run (push their wheelchair), bat and/or cheer them on during the game. There is no greater joy than seeing relationships develop between the player, the player’s family, and the buddy. 

I realized how special Field of Friends was when I had a parent come up to me at a game, with tears in his eyes, and show me his glove. He told me that this was the glove he used when he was a young boy and he never thought his son would have the opportunity to use it. Another time, a parent came up to me and said that this was the first time they ever got to cheer for their child during a sporting event. Another highlight was when a player was assisted out of his wheelchair and was able to take a few steps to make it to home base. 

After every game and at the end of every season, my only thought is that my cup runneth over. There are no words to explain the joy that we all experience on the dusty baseball fields. I am so thankful that God orchestrated a chance meeting that created such an amazing experience for so many.