As a mom of a Special Olympian, I of course have a tender heart for these athletes. All of them. But I think that you would feel the same way after a day in the stands (or volunteering). I want to share with you a few of the examples of gentleness and hilarity that we enjoyed this weekend at the Regional Basketball tournament held in Pueblo, Colorado for the SE division.
From the smiling volunteers of all ages who greet you and show you where to go, to the typical peers who play with our Olympians on some of the teams to keep the game moving, to the forgiving refs, to the beaming parents in the stands, to the excited Olympians themselves, the day is filled with energy and anticipation for the competitions.
There is a wide spectrum of ability on the court. On the not so good end is Molly, who does not have a competitive bone in her body, as well as this being the first year that she has played basketball. She played in PE class and has nailed many baskets in our driveway through the years, but she has NO concept of playing offense OR defense. Brooke, Jack and I sat in the bleachers howling with laughter at how sweet and innocent Molly was on the court. She had a smile that was ear to ear all day long. She was loving being with her friends from FSL where she works 3 days a week. She didn't have a clue what she was doing but she didn't care in the least.
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| Molly's face all day long....even as she ran up and down the court. |
Molly wore a hole in the floor with her straight and direct path as she loped from one end of the court to the other. At times the ball would bounce or roll near her but she'd make no effort to try and get it. The other team would score a basket and Molly would turn and run back to the other end. Back and forth. Beaming the whole time. We got such a kick out of that as the rest of the family is SO competitive that we just don't understand how she'd play this way? I was thinking: "Go intercept that lofty pass!! Blow by that kid and make the easy layup!!" In the 4th quarter, as she was running up the court, suddenly she looked directly at me in the stands, signed "potty" and went running off the court to the bathroom. Man down!! She left her team with only 4 players on the court. Her coach came to the bathroom to see if everything was okay as Molly hadn't told anyone what she was doing....and if you don't know the sign language sign for "bathroom"...you wouldn't have known what she was up to either.
They got creamed in their first game by a team that played offense AND defense. Our crew isn't so good at defense and our particular team doesn't have "typical peers" playing with them. It's a little higher level if you will.
The consolation round was a little more even. It almost looked like both teams had secretly met beforehand and said "If you don't play defense, we won't either. And hey, let's not run and get sweaty either. Let's just walk casually from one end of the court to the other and take turns scoring, okay? Break!" Spencer happened to be on the other team, and if it's possible, he was even more clueless than Molly with the rules :) He'd slowly plod back and forth, looking around at people in the bleachers, not really paying attention to the game at hand. If one of his teammates handed him the ball, he might bounce it once and then walk with it for 5-6 steps, and then directly toss it to the opposing team :) Almost as if saying "Here, do you want this?"
Another short kid would just tuck low and barrel head first into the kids standing under the basket, holding the ball like a football. Double dribbling and carrying the ball was hardly ever whistled (Thank God) and so funny to witness. Looked more like rugby than basketball sometimes. I loved how the cute refs would just smile at the infractions and often clap for the players when a basket finally went in. So opposite of what you normally watch on the court. If they whistled every infraction, there would have been NO basketball to watch. I loved watching all the athletes look to the stands at their parents for approval and affirmation. There is such an innocence and vulnerability that even as grown adults they have maintained. The day is filled with pure, simple joy and athletes giving it everything they have with just enough understanding of the game without the subtleties.
I also loved that Jack came with us to watch his sister. He had to get up at 7 am on his precious weekend to sleep in. He sat in the stands and loved every minute of watching Molly and the other Olympians. I love that he laughs and appreciates her and like us is laughing out of love and caring. He is an ultra competitive lacrosse player and loved how this event was unfolding in front of him. "This is classic" is what he said while videoing. Upon texting his girlfriend that it was "funny"...he then texted her back saying that "that didn't sound right". And I know what he means. It's hard to put into words the wonder of the day without sounding insulting to the athletes. I hate to even compare the day to watching puppies and babies but it's hard to describe pure innocence and joy another way.
Our world needs more innocence and joy. Thank you Special Olympics for gathering our athletes together and filling our day with smiles and reminders of just what IS important!
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