Special Olympians Shine at John Marshall Hoops Event
Niamh Coomey Trending
Smiles were abundant at John Marshall High School Thursday afternoon when more than 100 students and peer tutors came together for the annual Special Olympics basketball competition.
Despite a two-hour pushback to school start times due to the winter weather, about 175 athletes, ranging in age from elementary to high school, showed up to show off their skills, make crafts and take photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. The Knights of Pythias also served lunch for the hundreds of students, many of whom donned Christmas pajamas and festive patterns for this year's "Polar Express" theme.
While every student who participated in the event went home with a medal, there were also three basketball activities in which students could win an additional medal, Olympics-style.
The peer tutors, about 225 of them, hailed from both John Marshall and Cameron high schools and assisted the younger students as they passed balls, dribbled and scored shots around the court. One such tutor was Brady Dorsey, a freshman at JMHS who has experienced being both an athlete and now a student tutor for the event.
Dorsey, who uses a wheelchair, said she specifically requested to be paired with a child with a physical disability and ended up working with Chaseton Huggins, also a wheelchair user.
Working with other students with special needs meant a lot to her when she was younger, Dorsey said, so she was really happy being able to provide that for kids this year.
"Before I was the one who was depending and now I'm gonna be the one the kids are getting inspired from and depending on," Dorsey said.
Another peer tutor, JMHS senior Hailey Jones, spent well over a month crafting the large plywood model of the Polar Express that was used as a backdrop for photos.
While her friend helped out with some of the painting, Jones built, cut and put the model together herself in one of the biggest projects she has worked on, she said.
"I mainly wanted to see the kids' reactions to it," Jones said. "I'm glad that everyone did like it because I spent a lot of time and dedication on it."
Co-director of Marshall County Special Education Lori Caldwell has been involved for 14 or 15 years, she said.
"This is one of my two favorite days of the school year. The smiles on the kids' faces is why we continue to do this," Caldwell said.