Praise for 2020 COVID Volunteer Program

“My mentors were the best!! They were so good at announcing and teaching me.”     B.R.– Special Needs Experience Participant

“We were so proud to offer this mentor program for 2020 at a time when finding activities was nearly impossible.” Jeff Parles.

Innovative Online Program Offered Fun and Learning for Sports Fans  with Autism During Covid Shutdown

Fan-to Fan Play-By-Play Experience Connected Teens with Autism toPros in Sports Broadcasting

Las Vegas, Nevada – Teens with autism across the country had the opportunity to learn play-by-play sports broadcasting from the pros. The brainchild of sports radio host and play-by-play broadcaster Jeff Parles, and his colleague Ben Wilson, the program matched youths with autism with a mentor in the field of sports broadcasting. The mentors taught play-by-play skills and gave teens an opportunity to learn about sports broadcasting. The program, Fan-to-Fan, Play-by-Play offered a 1:1 online experience in 2020.

“Many people on the spectrum enjoy sports. Whether it was the 10th inning of the 2016 World Series, or a sequence from their favorite sports video game, participants were able to choose the moment they wanted to call play-by-play,” stated Parles. 

The Lovaas Center, a nationally respected organization dedicated to delivering high quality evidence-based treatment to those with autism provided autism-related training materials to the volunteer sports mentors. 

Based in Las Vegas, Parles and Wilson are sports broadcasters with television and radio experience at a variety of networks including Fox Sports Midwest, SEC Network+, SEC Network+, ESPN+, Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN) and KTGR – ESPN Radio in Columbia, Missouri.

Both men know first-hand how hard Covid was for those who are vulnerable. Wilson is immunocompromised and, for a period of time, could not safely leave his home. Parles has a brother with severe autism who lived in a group home in New Jersey.

“The Covid restrictions along with school and program closures were hard on all of us, but especially so for those with autism who were living in group homes. Many had not seen family for months and their routines had dramatically changed. This experience was a welcome distraction and offered something to look forward to,” Parles said.