Military Amputee Softball Game Saturday

They fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, and paid for freedom at the cost of a limb. Now 14 men from the Army and Marines have been brought together to play softball.

And their next stop is Mission Viejo.

• When: Saturday, March 9. Gates open at 11:30 a.m., first pitch at 1 p.m.
• Where: Youth Athletic Park

David van Sleet, an Army veteran, founded the team and coaches it. He worked within the Department of Veterans Affairs on prosthetics for the southwestern United States. And he grew up around softball.

"When I saw what was coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan ..., I could see something was missing in their life," he said. "They all were athletes once before, and they all didn't think they were going to live, they were going to walk, and they certainly didn't think they'd be playing a sport again."

So through the University of Arizona, Van Sleet began building his team.

An interviewer asked if the players suffered mentally from their war injuries.

"They're very good mentally, and their mental health and chemistry—everything is working fine," Van Sleet said. "We had a counselor travel with our team for the first three months from the department of Veteran Affairs just to make sure everyone on our team belonged on our team, both physically and mentally."

The Wounded Warriors are less than two years old, and already they've chalked up quite a resume. They've:

• appeared on HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
• been featured in Sports Illustrated
• played at Cooperstown
• were honored at Yankee Stadium

"It's gone pretty big," Van Sleet said.

The players come from around the country, and while they might not be the best softball team in the country, Van Sleet said they can hold their own against many able-bodied teams.

"We've got 14 great guys," he said. "Athletically, they're very gifted, even with a prosthetic device."