Central Michigan University Athletics
A Lesson In Fun
10/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 22, 2005
by Don Helinski
Sports Information Director
MOUNT PLEASANT -- Members of the Central Michigan University men's basketball team gave a hoops lesson to a Michigan Special Olympics team on Saturday afternoon and, in return, the Chippewas got a lesson in fun.
CMU student-athletes and coaches hosted a clinic for an Area 8 team from Lansing that will be representing the state in a national tournament in Ames, Iowa, in July 2006. The team was a coed mix of 12 players between 16 and 21-years-old from Lansing Eastern and Lansing Everett High Schools.
Eddie Spencer works on shooting technique with one of the players.  | |
"This was a great opportunity for our team to come up and learn from these skilled basketball players," Area 8 coach Aaron Bales said. "The players got some tips and the chance to run with some of the big boys. They had been looking forward to this for weeks and it was a lot of fun."
While the Chippewas were giving instruction and demonstrating skills, it was hard to tell who was having more fun, the CMU players or the Olympians. There was constant high-fiving, chest bumping, and even trash talking.
"This was something we wanted to do, not something that anyone was making us do," CMU player Eddie Spencer said. "We had a lot of fun and it was nice because everything doesn't have to be serious all the time. Seeing them interact with the rest of our guys was fun to watch."
Jeff Bohnhoff demonstrates ball handling drills to one of the Olympians. | |
The Chippewa players and coaches demonstrated skills at four different stations -- defense, ball handling, passing, and shooting -- with each Olympian rotating through all four areas. The groups then played some shooting games before the clinic ended with scrimmages that teamed three Olympians together with two CMU players.
"It was a lot of fun working with the kids," sophomore Giordan Watson said. "They came out with a lot of energy and getting to scrimmage with them at the end was definitely the highlight. We didn't know what to expect but we found that some of the athletes knew a lot about what we were teaching them."
Teammate Justin Blevins agreed.
"The athletes were fired up and ready to go," he said. "They were willing to work with us and they had great enthusiasm running to each station. It was a different experience from what we thought it would be like coming in. It was definitely a lot fun."
Giordan Watson and the Chippewas say good-bye to their new friends. | |
According to Michigan Special Olympics' Anne Galgoczi, the event came about when CMU coach Jay Smith approached the organization about the Chippewas getting involved somehow. With the upcoming national tournament, the idea of a clinic for this team was hatched.
The Chippewas are hoping to continue a friendship with the team and have invited the Area 8 squad up to watch a game in Rose Arena this season.
"This was a lot of fun," Olympian Moses Davis said. "We learned dribbling, backward dribbling, shooting, and all that good stuff. It will help us out with our tournament. They were pretty tall, and pretty cool too."
