Spirit League

Our mission is to create a community where athletes with developmental disabilities thrive.

Founded in 2004, Spirit Youth Sports, Inc. (DBA Spirit League) is a year-round sports league for athletes with developmental disabilities in Orange County. We emphasize learning sports fundamentals and social skills for athletes ages 6-32, with youth and adult programs. Families drive from 49 different cities to participate in our Mission Viejo program, including from Riverside, LA, and San Diego counties.

Who We Serve: Our athletes are typically unable to participate in their local neighborhood youth sports program due to Autism Spectrum Disorders, learning disabilities, Down syndrome, or cerebral palsy. We serve nearly 600 athletes per year across eight sports seasons.

Our Culture: Spirit League stands unique in its culture and approach to teaching team sports to athletes who learn differently. Our culture of having fun without competition and practicing the social benefits of team sports for individuals who struggle working in groups is different than typical youth sports leagues. Since most of our athletes are not inherently motivated to exercise or physically improve their ability on their own, teaching the fundamentals of each sport needs to be done in an extraordinary way, with a purposeful approach, extra repetition, and patience.

Benefits: The benefits of Spirit League go beyond exercise and a chance to earn a trophy. The sport is just the vehicle to learn and practice real-life skills like working in a team environment and following directions from a supervisor (the coach). Since typical youth sports leagues are not equipped to accommodate athletes with special needs, this is where Spirit League fills the gap and creates a safe place to play for hundreds of children and young adults. At Spirit League, it is more than the score.