“Unless you have a child or a close relationship with someone who has special needs, you don’t realize how important a program like this is. These are the kids that need it the most. They need the social interaction, to have fun and to feel like they are a part of something big. My hope is that more activities will come from this for our kids now and in the future.” – Carmen MacLeod

 

By Kim J. Harmon

More than 1,400 youth basketball players – from the Biddie ballplayers all the way up to the eighth-grade travel teams – have taken to the courts in and around Newtown for another exciting winter season.

Much like soccer in this sports-crazy town, the game of basketball has opened up new athletic doors for a lot of Newtown kids. That is especially true for the Newtown Hoopsters, a group of two dozen or so special needs athletes hitting the court for, perhaps, the first time.

The Hoopsters is the brainchild of Carmen MacLeod of Newtown, whose daughter Kelly, 6, is autistic. Kelly tried gymnastics and was enrolled in Biddie basketball, but the programs weren’t quite meeting her needs.

“Oh, she was happy and jumping around,” said Ms MacLeod, who has had this sort of program on her mind for a couple of years, “but she didn’t get anything out of it. She needs more one-on-one instruction. And once I tried to do something more for her, I wanted to do something more for others.”

She approached Jack Shpunt and Keith Kling with the idea of bringing the program under the umbrella of the Newtown Youth Basketball Association and the two couldn’t have been more enthusiastic about it.

“They were amazing,” said Ms MacLeod, “right from the get go.”

Once she realized the program might actually happen, she sent a general email through her support group and she received an overwhelming response. In fact, certified behavior analyst Jodi Mazeleski was brought on board to help with any potential difficult situations that might arise and once she saw what was going on, Ms MacLeod said, she committed to attend every week.

“When we first started,” she added, “we didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know how the kids would respond.”

Some of the kids already have some basketball skills and are doing well. Others are new to the sport and the interaction. But the formula – modeled on a similar Fairfield program – puts one lead person (coach), one assistant and one buddy in each group to provide more one-on-one time for the players.

So, how did the players respond?

“The kids are so excited,” said Ms MacLeod, whose program began on November 26 and will run for a total of 10 sessions over 12 weeks. “I’m ecstatic … beyond words. The first one was extremely emotional for me. I have gotten so many emails and the responses from parents have been wonderful.”

And everybody is willing to help.

“Our assistants all pursued us, actually,” said Ms MacLeod. “There were some girls in a referee clinic, or something, and Jack (Shpunt) asked if anyone would want to volunteer for the program and three of them raised their hands right away.”

The program is led by coaches John O’Leary (the head coach), Priscilla Jones, Kenny Ayles, Mario Pizighelli and Colleen Mailhut. Kerry Dainis, Mark Smith, Brady Eggleston, Becca Hotchkiss and Nicole Escoda are all assistant coaches with Dr Laura Nowacki and Mike Salvatore also providing assistance.

Clare Boyles, Casey Harkins, Megan Harkins, Haley Harkins and Maren Brady all serve as buddies.

There are also several more “on call” assistants and buddies should the need arise.

On top of all that help, Mailhut (coach) and Dainis (assistant coach) out of Monkey Business Gym in Watertown are sponsoring the Newtown Hoopsters and allowing the group to do this thing as cheaply as possible.

With all this help and support, the goals are simple.

“First and foremost,” said Ms MacLeod, “we want the kids to have fun, be safe, and be part of something big.”

That was in perfect evidence in the Monday session at Hawley School this week.

Go Hoopsters!

NOTE: If there is anyone who wishes to help coach, facilitate or develop other programs, contact Carmen MacLeod at 364-1181 or Carmen.MacLeod @yahoo.com.