HIGH POINT – You want to hear about a real field of dreams?

Consider the poignant story of Tyler Ford, an 11-year-old Archdale boy so desperate to play baseball that he used to fall asleep every night with his mitt and a baseball lovingly cradled in his arms, with visions of home runs no doubt dancing in his head.

“That was kinda his way of saying how much he wanted to play,” says Tyler’s mom, Shanda Ford. “You know, Tyler can’t verbalize what he’s thinking, but little things like that tell you how he feels. We knew he wanted to play.”

Tyler has grown up in a baseball family – his dad, Scott, played the game and coached Tyler’s older brother Jordan, now 15, on several youth-league teams. But Tyler, who was born with a rare genetic disorder called Cri-du-chat syndrome, could only watch from the bleachers.

Oh, except for those occasions when he slipped away and ran out onto the field to get into the action. Yeah, he wants to play that much.

So if you don’t think Tyler’s excited about the new Miracle League of High Point – which will afford him and other children with serious physical and mental disabilities the chance to play organized team baseball – then you don’t know beans about baseball or about little boys’ dreams.

The long-awaited High Point Miracle Field, which will host its first games Saturday, is very literally Tyler’s field of dreams.

“He’s very, very excited,” Shanda says. “His daddy’s gonna coach – and his big brother, too – and I’m gonna be the team mom.

“I think it’s wonderful these kids will have an opportunity to do something like this. Tyler has never gotten to play a team sport – he’s always had to step back. When he would go to his brother’s baseball games, he always wanted to go out there and play, too, but he couldn’t. It was heartbreaking.”

The Miracle League of High Point, one of about 200 Miracle Leagues across the country, will allow children with mental and physical disabilities to experience the joy of America’s pastime by removing the barriers that have traditionally kept them off the baseball field. Volunteers will help the kids bat, circle the bases and play in the field.

In Tyler’s case, a major symptom of his Cri-du-chat syndrome is low muscle tone, as well as fine motor skill problems, so he’ll probably require help swinging the bat and possibly running the bases, his mother says.

“He doesn’t need a walker, but he has a lot of balance issues,” she explains. “He might be running and just all of a sudden fall over.”

That’s where the Miracle Field’s custom-designed, rubberized turf will come into play – something that’s not available in regular youth baseball leagues.

Michele Stopher, of Asheboro, says the Miracle League will be a blessing for her daughter, 7-year-old Ma’Keilah, who has moyamoya syndrome, an inherited disease in which certain arteries in the brain are constricted. In addition to developmental delays, Ma’Keilah has weakness on her left side and has begun wearing braces to help her walk. She’s also at risk of suffering strokes and/or seizures.

“It’s important for me to have my baby be involved with a team sport, since none of the other team sports have the patience or resources for a child with special needs,” Stopher says.

“There’s nothing for them to do, and as a mom, I just want to make sure any opportunity I can give her, that she gets it. I’m tremendously excited to know our special kids in the community are gonna have a resource where they are involved in a team event no matter what their ability is.”

That sense of belonging is critical for special-needs children, Ford agrees.

“People don’t realize that these kids want so bad to be a part of something, so this is gonna give them a lot,” she says. “You can tell that they feel unaccepted. This will allow them to feel accepted.”