Paul Rogers ’86 and his wife Mandy recognized by the Mississippi Senate and USA Weekend as the 2006 Most Caring Coaches.

Paul Rogers ’86 and his wife Mandy were recently recognized by the Mississippi Senate and USA Weekend as the 2006 Most Caring Coaches. They appeared on the Hallmark Channel’s Naomi’s New Morning, a show hosted by Grammy-award winning country music singer Naomi Judd.

Paul and Mandy are parents of two disabled boys, Nate, now 22, and Ben, now 18. They founded the Challenger League in 1991, a special needs softball league in Ridgeland, Mississippi because they saw few recreational outlets for kids with special needs in their town. Inspired by an article about a young girl in a wheelchair watching a baseball game, the couple, along with three other couples and the Ridgeland Recreation and Parks staff members, created the Challenge program.

“These are children who would be looking from the sidelines at their peers. But for two hours every week, they get to shine and be a star,” says Laura Sue McClure, who nominated the couple.

In the first season, Challenger League had two teams of nine. April was the beginning of the league’s 17th season at Ridgeland Recreation and Parks and there are now more than 100 players.