Starting when he was 10 years old, Andy Stern often played wiffle ball after school with his friends.
Stern, now an athletic trainer in New York City, served as the host to the highly competitive games in his front yard in Monroe Township. His mom even brought out iced tea between games.
Two decades later, Stern’s childhood game is also an inspiring charity.
For 10 years now, Stern has hosted WiffleMania at Danny P. Ryan Field in Monroe. This year’s event took place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 30.
Since 2010, proceeds from the event have gone to the Wobbly Feet Foundation, which raises money for Ataxia Telangiectasia (AT) research.
The AT is a rare children’s disease that creates a disconnect between the brain and body, immobilizing victims, according to Samantha Dzembo, the founder of the Wobbly Feet Foundation.
There are only about 500 cases in the United States.
Stern’s cousin, Connor Dzembo, who lives in Florida with Samantha, his mom, and Nick Dzembo, his dad, has one of those cases, which is why Stern started raising money for Wobbly Feet. WiffleMania, with the help of local and even national sponsors, like Nike, raised more than $20,000 for AT research in its first nine years.
Stern expected to raise between $2,000 and $5,000 this year, though final numbers are not in yet from the event that was held on that hot Saturday.
“When I got the news of my cousin Connor having this disease, I wanted to use what was so meaningful in my childhood to help children who don’t have that opportunity (to play games),” Stern said. “Maybe there’s a cure. Maybe there’s a treatment. And then they can enjoy the childhood that I got.”
Connor kept getting respiratory infections in the first few years of his life. He also had trouble walking.
“A common symptom is kids (with AT) tend to walk later,” said Samantha. “And they never get their stance or their balance.”
Connor’s parents took him to doctor after doctor. None of them knew what was wrong. When one doctor finally figured it out, over two years after the initial symptoms, Nick and Samantha decided to start Wobbly Feet. Connor was diagnosed in August 2009, one month before his third birthday. By December, Nick and Samantha already had their 501c3 nonprofit status.
Since founding Wobbly Feet, the Dzembos have raised nearly $500,000 for AT research, and doctors are making strides with that money.
“One thing that’s really exciting right now is a clinical trial of a formal treatment,” Samantha said. “My son actually just finished the first year of the trial. Now he’s receiving the drug and it helps to slow down the symptoms.”
Before starting the treatment, Connor had trouble walking more than 10 feet. “Now he can walk throughout the whole day in his classroom at school,” Samantha said. “He can also feed himself a lot better without the food falling off the fork.”
After each monthly treatment, Connor is able to walk, feed himself and function in other ways for about 2-3 weeks. But then the symptoms start coming back in the last week of each month, before he goes through the treatment again.
Connor attended last Saturday’s WiffleMania event with his mom. Since it was the end of the month, he spent most of the day in his electric wheelchair. But that didn’t stop him from exasperating his mom like a typical kid.
At one point, after Samantha asked Connor to stay close, he pressed a button on his chair and bolted away. Samantha turned around, saw that he wasn’t there and just laughed.
“Oh yeah, cognitive is still there,” Samantha said. “So attitude-wise, he’s a normal 11-year-old.”
Samantha was able to catch up with Connor a few minutes later, and he talked about how much WiffleMania means to him.
“I’m so happy,” Connor said. “They are raising awareness.”
Samantha said Connor is determined to walk without help. And his cousin, Andy, is determined to help him achieve that dream. WiffleMania featured 24 teams and between 72 and 96 players. The particpants came from all over New Jersey, the Philadelphia area and even New York State.
Between the loud music, the solo cup beers, and the cut-off t-shirts featuring quintessentially American team names (Founding Fathers, Here for Beer) and 1990s baseball references (Ken Griffey Jr., the movie “Major League”), the event felt like a Greek life fundraiser on a college campus, mixing warm weather fun with a good cause.
“Good times, good cause,” said tournament participant Lou Nacanther. “It’s always just a really fun day.”
“It’s a great event, a fantastic event,” said another participant, Andre Sigismondo, who has been playing wiffle ball with Stern since he was 15. “Every year it gets better and better, with more sponsors and everything.”
There is no cure for AT yet. But if WiffleMania continues, Wobbly Feet will be able to help doctors get a little closer each year.
“Let’s hope this isn’t the last year, but due to a lot of people growing up, and more responsibilities, it might be difficult,” said Sigismondo. “But we hope to continue it.”