123 Main Street, New York, NY 10001
123 Main Street, New York, NY 10001
When Paul Hooker was coaching a Little League Baseball team one day in 1990, he turned to a little girl in a wheelchair and asked her how she was doing. Frustrated with watching from the sidelines as her brother played, the little girl replied, “this stinks.” That two-word answer sparked a mission to create a program that would enable children and young adults of all abilities to enjoy and participate in sports.
Driven by this newfound philosophy, Paul and his wife Margo began a grass-roots softball league near their hometown in Central New Jersey, called Challenged Youth Sports. Over the years, the small league grew from a single-sport season to a year-round organization with nearly a dozen sports, impacting hundreds of families in the region.
As the 25th anniversary of Challenged Youth Sports approached, a new mission became clear: serve the special needs community on a national scale. In 2014 the organization reinvented itself as RallyCap Sports, and set out to create regional chapters at universities across the nation. RallyCap Sports launched its first chapter at Bowling Green State University, establishing the model for future chapters. Now at 19 locations across 8 states (see our locations here), RallyCap Sports is bringing recreational sports opportunities to hundreds of people with special needs and providing live-changing volunteer opportunities to thousands of volunteers.
In 2014, the organization reinvented itself as RallyCap Sports, and set out to create regional chapters at universities across the nation. RallyCap Sports launched its first chapter at Bowling Green State University, establishing the model for future chapters. Now at 17 locations across 6 states.
To date, we’ve brought sports to nearly 2,000 children and young adults with special needs with the help of 3,200 volunteers who have served more than 65,000 community service hours.
Inspired by letters from local children with special needs who wanted a place to play, Paul and Margo Hooker raised money through RallyCap Sports and built two half-million dollar accessible playgrounds in New Jersey. The first playground, “Challenger Place” in Dorbrook Park (Colts Neck), was completed in June 2004 and the second playground, “Tony’s Place” (named after a long-time RallyCap supporter who passed away) in 7 Presidents Park in Long Branch, in November 2009. These are fully accessible playgrounds for children of ALL abilities.
In 2017, RallyCap decided to use the donations collected in memory of a special volunteer in our program to gift five adaptive bikes to students with special needs at the LADACIN Network Schroth School in Ocean Twp, NJ. The feedback from the families who received these bikes was unanimous, the bikes had a tremendous positive impact on their children. This led RallyCap to raise the funds needed to gift four more adaptive bikes in 2018 and five more in 2019.
Inspired by letters from local children with special needs who wanted a place to play, Paul and Margo Hooker raised money through RallyCap Sports and built two half-million dollar accessible playgrounds in New Jersey. The first playground, “Challenger Place” in Dorbrook Park (Colts Neck), was completed in June 2004 and the second playground, “Tony’s Place” (named after a long-time RallyCap supporter who passed away) in 7 Presidents Park in Long Branch, in November 2009. These are fully accessible playgrounds for children of ALL abilities.
In 2014, the organization reinvented itself as RallyCap Sports, and set out to create regional chapters at universities across the nation. RallyCap Sports launched its first chapter at Bowling Green State University, establishing the model for future chapters. Now at 17 locations across 6 states.
In 2017, RallyCap decided to use the donations collected in memory of a special volunteer in our program to gift five adaptive bikes to students with special needs at the LADACIN Network Schroth School in Ocean Twp, NJ. The feedback from the families who received these bikes was unanimous, the bikes had a tremendous positive impact on their children. This led RallyCap to raise the funds needed to gift four more adaptive bikes in 2018 and five more in 2019.
To date, we’ve brought sports to nearly 2,000 children and young adults with special needs with the help of 3,200 volunteers who have served more than 65,000 community service hours.
A world where people with special needs can share in the joy of sports and community.
To provide recreational sports for children and young adults with special needs through a volunteer-driven community.
We Play For Smiles
Our sports and events are geared towards creating a safe environment for people of all abilities to have fun and flourish within our three-pillar mission. RallyChapters across the nation should be places where everyone feels welcome and has a blast; competition is not our objective.
Celebrate Every Victory
We believe everyone should be told “great job!” and “you rock!”. One of our favorite ways to support and encourage every RallyPlayer is to reward them with their very own trophy! At the end of each sport season, there is a trophy ceremony—trust us—it’s one of the most special parts of our program!
All Abilities Are Welcome
At the heart of RallyCap Sports is our vision that children and young adults with special needs have the opportunity to participate in and enjoy sports just like everyone else! To create an inclusionary sports program, we open the door to children and young adults with abilities and special needs of all kinds. We want every RallyPlayer to feel like they belong and to have fun.
Building Communities
At RallyCap Sports, we believe that sports have the power to ignite change in our local communities across the country. Through acceptance, we aim to challenge everyone to uncover a wider range of human abilities and to come together as we unite as human beings.
Sport seasons are the operational foundation of our program. RallyCap Sports was created because children with special needs did not have a chance to participate in local sports leagues as other kids did. Although there are other events and activities each year, providing a sports league for children with special needs will always be our main focus.
A sport season with RallyCap Sports consists of 4-8 weeks of activities centered on one sport. Each week, RallyPlayers learn the rules and skills of the sport through special drills and games. By the end of the season, RallyPlayers will also have the chance to participate in scrimmage/game-play to put their new skills into action. Sport seasons are all about healthy lifestyle, social integration, building confidence, and most importantly—FUN!
A short biography of the employee and why their background should inspire potential clients' confidence.
A short biography of the employee and why their background should inspire potential clients' confidence.
A short biography of the employee and why their background should inspire potential clients' confidence.
Employee Name
Inspired by letters from local children with special needs who wanted a place to play, Paul and Margo Hooker raised money through RallyCap Sports and built two half-million dollar accessible playgrounds in New Jersey. The first playground, “Challenger Place” in Dorbrook Park (Colts Neck), was completed in June 2004 and the second playground, “Tony’s Place” (named after a long-time RallyCap supporter who passed away) in 7 Presidents Park in Long Branch, in November 2009. These are fully accessible playgrounds for children of ALL abilities.
In 2014, the organization reinvented itself as RallyCap Sports, and set out to create regional chapters at universities across the nation. RallyCap Sports launched its first chapter at Bowling Green State University, establishing the model for future chapters. Now at 17 locations across 6 states.
In 2017, RallyCap decided to use the donations collected in memory of a special volunteer in our program to gift five adaptive bikes to students with special needs at the LADACIN Network Schroth School in Ocean Twp, NJ. The feedback from the families who received these bikes was unanimous, the bikes had a tremendous positive impact on their children. This led RallyCap to raise the funds needed to gift four more adaptive bikes in 2018 and five more in 2019.
To date, we’ve brought sports to nearly 2,000 children and young adults with special needs with the help of 3,200 volunteers who have served more than 65,000 community service hours.
