Whitman County Cougars host basketball practice

PULLMAN — The Whitman County Special Olympics Team held its practice at Smith Gym on the Washington State campus in Pullman in preparations for its regional basketball tournament being held on Feb. 12, also at the Washington State campus.

The Cougars practiced several drills in preparation for the tournament, namely dribbling, passing and shooting, all with smiles on their faces, smiles that weren’t visible the past couple years due to precautions taken for the COVID-19 pandemic

“I really like basketball because I like to be with all my friends,” Whitman County athlete Norma Gibson said. “I like (playing) without the masks because I can’t breathe in a mask, at all. But I’m glad everybody is back and having fun.”

Another new addition to the team this year is the involvement of people from Washington State’s Responsibility Opportunity Advocacy and Respect (ROAR) program. The ROAR program during the academic year at Washington State helps mentor students with developmental disabilities in various classes at the university. Several of the mentors are volunteering as coaches for the basketball season coming up, helping bridge the gap between the ROAR program and the Special Olympics team.

“I think it’s been a great opportunity,” ROAR graduate assistant Sam Christopher said. “It’s actually funny how it all came about. We were doing an event for our WSU ROAR orientation and we happened to just run into one of the coaches. She said ‘Hey, it would be a cool opportunity if we could connect ROAR to Special Olympics in Whitman County.’ So I got in contact with Deb (Niehenke) and it’s been just a great partnership ever since then, and having the whole age range from anywhere from 10 years-old to 60 years-old. I think it’s just been a great thing for the Pullman community.”

Christopher continued to describe the impact of having ROAR’s influence on athletes and students expand beyond the classroom and into the community as a whole.

“The university is a big part of everything,” Christopher said. “They’ve just been so supportive of, one, of our program and, two, just trying to make Pullman more inclusive of a community and it’s just been amazing to be a part of, for sure.”

Some of the athletes are brand new to the sport and to the Cougars as a whole, but some of the athletes are returning after having success with the team in previous years, not only in basketball, but in other sports as well.

“I went to Wenatchee, I was the point guard,” athlete Nathan Jones said. “We went to track and field. I was there with them. I got first in the walking part and sixth in the running part, bronze in the long jump.” Jones stated that, as a point guard, dribbling and handling the basketball was his favorite part of the sport.

The basketball tournament separates events based on the skills of the athletes. There are individual competitions for dribbling, passing and shooting as well as typical games, but no matter the skill set of the athletes in question, all are happy about one thing: they’re happy basketball is back, it’s great to see everyone competing and being able to play without COVID-19 restrictions is more-than-welcome.

The regional basketball tournament will be held from 9 a.m to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12 at the Bohler-Smith Complex on the Washington State University Campus.

Those interested in more information about events and fundraisers can message Deb Niehenke at whitcospecialo@gmail.com. The ROAR program can be reached at coe.roar@wsu.edu