LITTLE MOUNTAIN, S.C. – At The Nest in Little Mountain, you can find a field of players from different places. You’ll see deputies from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, varsity baseball players from Chapin High School and the Screaming Eagles.
The Screaming Eagles is a team of special needs athletes, founded by Jenny Bowers in 2017. Bowers created the group to give her son and his friends a place to just play ball.
“Their disabilities are left at the gate,” Bowers said. “They come out. They have a great time. They scream. They’re loud. It’s a lot of fun to watch them.”
Each game, different teams from local colleges and high schools, as well as local law enforcement step up to the plate and join the Screaming Eagles at bat.
“What brings us out here?” Deputy Chief Maria Yturria of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said. “Just to come out and see the smile on these kid’s faces.”
Bowers said Chapin High School and Richland County have been behind them since Day One.
Now, sitting on 34 acres of land, Bowers plans to expand the playing field for the Screaming Eagles.
“What we want to do here is so much more than sports,” Bowers said. “It’s gonna be a place where we can come, and these kids can thrive. A place where judgment is left behind, and they can be who they are.”
Along with the soccer and baseball fields already on the property, Bowers hopes to add a barn, after-school activities and a summer camp to The Nest.
A Richland County deputy and Chapin High School varsity baseball player are “friendly helpers” to a Screaming Eagles’ special needs athlete.
