The New Trier Special Olympics basketball teams participated in the 2016 Christian Volkmann Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Maine West High School in Des Plaines.

New Trier competed against 15 other teams from schools in the North Shore area including Maine West, Highland Park, and Niles North.

The Special Olympics program at New Trier consists of three teams with a total of 30 athletes and 15 peer coaches. Each team played in three, 45 minute games during the day. The tourney started at 10:00 am and ended at 2:00 pm.

Kay Pothast and Mary Beth Berrett, head sponsors of Special Olympics at New Trier, oversaw the tournament.

Pothast has worked with the Special Olympics for 15 years at New Trier. She was also involved with the program in her undergraduate and graduate school.

The Special Olympics program is made up of athletes and peer coaches. The athletes are a part of the adapted kinetic wellness program. The peer coaches are students involved in the Enriching Lives Through Service Club (ELS).

Junior brothers Spencer and Quinn Campbell are athletes who participated in the tournament. Spencer Campbell said that his favorite part about the tournament was playing basketball like the people on television.

According to junior athlete Annie Garcia, she had the most fun dancing with her friends during the breaks between her games.

Senior athlete Christian Boyd agreed with her, adding that he also loves to dance.
Boyd’s 11:30 am game against Niles North was close. New Trier was down 14-18 at the half, but came back and tied the game 36-36.

Senior Avery Schatz was one of the peer coaches at the tournament. She said her favorite part about being a coach was “Watching my athletes grow and be able to participate in the game however they can.”

Senior Elizabeth Solon, one of Schatz’s athletes, said she enjoyed being around her friends during these tournaments.

Special Olympics provides a sociable environment for all the students to make friends. The role of the peer helper is to be the athlete’s friend and to be a mentor, Pothast said. They are positive role models for the athlete, teaching them a variety of skills from being a good teammate to handling the basketball.

Junior Amanda Stiffler said, “I personally think that spending time with these kids—some of my best friends—allows you to learn new skills that you really can’t learn anywhere else such as being patient, understanding, and able to read someone’s emotions enough to know how to talk and react to them.”
Stiffler has been involved with Special Olympics since her freshman year and is currently a peer coach for the winter basketball season.

She mentioned that being in the ELS club and Special Olympics has inspired her to continue her involvement in special education programs in college. “It has also allowed me to meet many new people.”

Junior Katie Jackson also has an active role in Special Olympics. She has been in ELS Club since freshman year, but started coaching for the Special Olympics as a sophomore.

Jackson is a basketball coach this season and was a volleyball coach in the fall. Her sophomore year, she was a peer coach during the spring track and field season.

“I think Special Olympics has had the greatest positive impact out of everything I have done at New Trier so far. I have made some of my best friends from it and it makes my day to walk down the halls and be able to connect and joke around with students that I might not have ever talked to before.”