Growth leads to first Special Olympics basketball tourney

Special Olympics has grown by leaps and bounds in Knox County over the years.

More than 150 Knox County athletes participate in a variety of sports – ranging from track and field to swimming to basketball. The sports give developmentally disabled athletes an opportunity to compete against each other and athletes from all over the state of Ohio.

In just two years, team basketball has made one of the biggest jumps – with 14 players now competing for the Knox County Eagles. The growth of the sport encouraged Knox County Special Olympics coordinator Talisha Beha to take an even bigger leap – holding a major tournament.

On Saturday, the Knox Invitational was held at Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s Ariel Arena, with 20 teams invited to participate.

“We started team basketball about two years ago and have really loved playing teams across our region. We don’t usually see a lot of teams other than your neighboring counties. So, Adam (Warnement, the Northwest Ohio region director of Special Olympics) and I were talking about how we can play more teams, see everybody from across the state before you get to state games. We talked about for about a year and we talked to Paul (McNeal, the coordinator of development at MVNU) to see if this amazing venue would be available. He’s been a great partner. It sort of just happened,” Beha said. “It's a great way for all of our athletes to get more games in and to be able to see what teams from across the state are doing before you get to the big end of the season games.”

Knox County has had basketball individual skills athletes for many years but just started hosting a basketball team after requests from the players. The team competes in the Division 4 and 5 levels, and were both excited and a little nervous about hosting its own tournament this year.

“I like to say everybody loves to come around sports. You love to watch sports; you love to play sports and having that team atmosphere is so important. It gives our athletes the chance to have the same opportunity any typical athlete has, is so important,” Beha said. “A big thing we talked about today – this is the first tournament-like setting that our team has played this year and they got really nervous this morning. It’s a great learning experience. This is what it’s going to be like when we do regionals. So, giving them those opportunities to feel those butterflies before a game is a huge thing for all our athletes.”

The teams played games all day long in the main arena, as well as the two auxiliary gyms, at Ariel Arena. Each game paired up teams of similar ability and skills playing two 20-minute halves. There were teams from Marion, Hancock and Lucas counties in the Northwest Region, as well as ones from all over the state.

Teams like the Knox County Eagles play around 12 games a season, but those are usually confined to nearby communities. The first-ever Knox Invitational gave athletes an opportunity, outside of the state tournament in February, to play other teams from around Ohio.

“This is the first year we’ve done anything like this, at least in the basketball world. We’ve had counties like Hancock and Lucas that have hosted smaller tournaments,” said Adam Warnement, the NW Ohio Regional Director for Special Olympics. “But this amazing facility at MVNU – having three gyms in this proximity and the way it’s set up, and all the support we’ve gotten from them, you have to have something like that with all these athletes coming in and out. Hopefully, this is the first of many.”

The Eagles usually practice at Kenyon College and also have a good relationship with MVNU, so it was only natural for MVNU to host the tournament. Beha talked with McNeal, who did not hesitate to help.

“At MVNU athletics, what we have tried to do in the last seven or eight years, is build a bridge within our community and one of those ways is through helping with Special Olympics. We’ve had different activities throughout the year where we have involved them and we want to continue that tradition as we move forward and what better way than with this tournament,” McNeal said. “We’re blessed to be able to have the facilities that we do and with that blessing comes the opportunity to be able to give back and help where it’s needed. A lot of times people talk about giving with time, treasure and talent, and Ariel Arena and the facilities we have is one treasure that we can share with our community.”

“They’ve (MVNU) been beyond accommodating so far to get us out here and use this incredible facility. There’s nothing like this around where we’re at. There’s a lot of rural counties in NW Ohio and this is an amazing opportunity here,” Warnement said. “This gives you the whole feel of tournament play and the atmosphere with all the other teams coming in, it feels like you’re in the big state tournament, which we do in Columbus at Ohio State. It’s definitely a huge benefit to these athletes to get to experience that.”