Rockford University's one-legged baseball player 'fell in love with the game'
ROCKFORD — Daren Manheimer didn't tell Rockford University head coach Bob Koopmann that he only had one leg when the two were talking about a potential roster spot on the Regents' baseball team.
Not right away.
Manheimer was just trying to sell himself as a baseball player, not as a baseball player with one leg.
He eventually got around to telling him, but by then Koopmann wasn't sure if he was serious or not.
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"I wasn't sure if I was being pranked," said Koopmann, a 17-year Rockford University head baseball coach who had never coached a player with a sports blade. "But he was very serious, and he's very serious about his baseball."
Eventually Koopmann got to see what Manheimer brought to the diamond, and he liked it enough to bring him in. Manheimer has been playing third base for the junior varsity squad in the first half of the season, and he's hoping to do enough to earn some varsity time.
While Manheimer is not out to inspire others, he often has that affect on the people that come into contact with him anyway.
"How can he not be?" infielder Zach Duke said. "He's a great teammate, one of the best. He's always there for you, and he's an all-around great person, and an all-around great baseball player."
"He's pretty inspirational," Koopmann added. "He wanted to go somewhere where he was just looked at as another baseball player. ... You can't help but get inspired by him."
'Part of who I am'
Manheimer, now 23, was born with one leg due to amniotic band syndrome.
"I've just treated it like, I can't change it, so it's just part of who I am," he said.
Growing up, the Washington state native got a prosthetic leg, and was able to do just about anything the normal kid could do. He upgraded later to a sports blade, which is better for running and athletics.
He started playing baseball when he was 5.
"I just fell in love with the game, right away," Manheimer said. "I immediately embraced the sport. I couldn't get enough of it."
Manheimer played prep ball at Columbia River High School, and then played one season at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, before COVID-19 struck, and shut things down at the junior college level.
He's been trying to work himself back into a lineup ever since.
Coming to Rockford
Koopmann and the team welcomed Manheimer, a 5-foot, 7-inch, 150-pound junior in the offseason.
"We have a really good group of guys here, and he fit right in," senior pitcher Kent Evans said. "We're all for one around here, so it doesn't matter if you're varsity or JV or what, we've got each other's backs. ... And Daren is out there balling."
Rockford's varsity team was 8-14 overall and 3-5 in the NACC headed into Friday's home double-header against Wisconsin Lutheran, with the NACC tournament starting on May 11. The JV team had won only two games headed into the back half of the campaign.
Manheimer had three hits through his first 15 at-bats of the season, with one run scored. He was a perfect 9-for-9 on put-outs from third base.
"He wants to play (varsity) and contribute, and I could see that happening," Koopmann said. "We're deep at third base right now, but that doesn't mean we couldn't use him, at some point, somewhere. ... The guys just love him."
Manheimer would like to play baseball at the next level, but he knows he has to conquer NCAA Division III, first. Right now, he just wants his shot at some varsity at-bats.
He's quickly gaining a fan base, even in his own dugout.
"He can hit. He can field his spot. He's just like the rest of us," Duke said. "He deserves everything he accomplishes, that's for sure."
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford University's one-legged baseball player 'fits right in'
