Local Special Olympics team starts basketball

PULLMAN - When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it was an eye-opener for a lot of people. Day-to-day activities that were on a constant schedule just stopped – along with the rest of the world.

One of those activities was athletics. From grade school all the way to professional levels, seasons were either moved to atypical dates, heavily abbreviated or outright canceled.

Such was the case for Special Olympics athletics. The Special Olympics committees and policy-makers placed a heavy emphasis on health-and-safety protocols to protect the athletes, many of whom have underlying conditions and disabilities that could make them high-risk to contraction of COVID-19.

Now, almost three years after the initial shutdowns due to the pandemic begun, the Whitman County Cougars Special Olympics team is starting to get the turnout it had in pre-pandemic years, recently finishing the bowling season (sending five athletes to state competition), and hitting the courts for their first basketball season in years.

The Cougars, (named after many of the athletes' love for Washington State University) have 38 athletes registered for basketball season – ranging from a variety of different age groups.

"It's been wonderful to see all the athletes get together," team manager Debbie Niehenke said. "That's one of the unique things about our team. We have the youngest athletes and people who are in their senior years and they all play together."

Basketball is one of the four sports offered by the Whitman County Cougars: track and field in the spring, basketball in the winter and bowling in the fall. The Whitman County Cougars sometimes participates with the Twin Rivers Special Olympics team, located in the Lewis-Clark valley, with other sports, although the logistics of commuting the athletes to practice and

tournament locations can be complicated.

The fourth sport offered by the Cougars, bocce, which the team plays in the summer, was introduced in 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 guidelines.

With numbers already low during the summer due to athletes spending time with families and on vacations (six athletes were registered in the summer of 2021) and the COVID-19 pandemic only further diminishing the numbers of athletes and volunteers, the team bought bocce equipment via a grant and started participating in the sport.

Athletes were able to participate due to the low quantity of people participating at one given time and were able to wear masks and follow social distancing while playing outside.

Now, basketball is back with no protocols.

"It means so much," Niehenke said. "Not only to us as volunteers, but also the athletes."

Niehenke, in addition to being a volunteer and a manager of the team, has a son with severe autism who competes in athletics.

"Getting to regain that and get that back – Special Olympics isn't an event or moment, it's a lifetime," Niehenke said. "With my son, he doesn't like loud noises and doesn't like crowds. But he competes in Special Olympics bowling. He's able to put that aside and compete with his friends. Other than that, he doesn't like to compete.

"I have some athletes who sign up to come and say 'I don't really like basketball. Can I just hangout with you guys?' They don't even care about dribbling the ball – they just want to be with their friends."

There are several different Special Olympics activities for basketball for the athletes to participate in. Practices help the managers determine what each athletes' capabilities are for basketball – and based on what they can or cannot do, they can participate in either dribbling, passing or shooting events in Special Olympics, based entirely on what they are most capable of or have the most fun participating in.

Despite the restrictions being lifted and more athletes starting to sign up – finding volunteers and coaches has been a struggle for Niehenke and the rest of the managers. Volunteers saw a decrease in numbers for the same reasons the players did, in addition to many outright retiring or not feeling safe returning to volunteering.

Washington State University's Responsibility Opportunity Advocacy and Respect program (ROAR) has helped open the door for new volunteers for the Special Olympics in addition to the help it already provides for some of the athletes.

The ROAR program is a two-year postsecondary education program meant for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Students involved in the program receive individualized teaching for education, vocation, social skills and independent living according to Washington State University's website.

Students in the ROAR program often have fellow students who mentor them, and now many of those mentors started volunteering for the Special Olympics team when bowling season started.

"For the first time ever I have people calling and emailing me saying 'I want to be a volunteer coach,'" Niehenke said. "Everyone should be lucky to have the love and dedication I have for my son and the volunteers have for the athletes. It's the most rewarding part of my day."

Niehenke's child moved into community living recently, and although it was a tough adjustment for her, she said that he deserves independence – something that Special Olympics helps provide for all of the athletes.

"It was a tough decision but he deserves independence," Niehenke said. "And that's what Special Olympics does. It doesn't matter where they are or what they do, Special Olympics offers them a chance to be independent no matter where they are or what they do or what their abilities are."

The Whitman County Cougars held practices in Pullman on the Washington State University campus, but have held practices in Colfax at the First Baptist Church in Colfax. The Cougars practice at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28 at the Smith Gym on the Washington State campus, but Niehenke stated that the team would love to practice at First Baptist Church again in the future. The regional basketball tournament will be held on Sunday, Feb. 12 on the WSU campus.

The Whitman County Special Olympics team also has two fundraisers coming up – one is a Polar Pop on Feb. 18 at a TBD location, and a benefit trapshooting hosted by the Colton Gun Club on March 11.