LA JOLLA, Calif. – On a bright Sunday afternoon, the weather was ripe for some outdoor activities. However, the real fun was happening inside LionTree Arena, where UC San Diego's men's and women's basketball teams hosted its eighth annual Special Olympics Basketball Clinic.
"It's one of our favorite days of the year," associate men's head coach Clint Allard said. "They always have great turnout and have great energy and it's really rewarding for our guys to give back in something that they're passionate about"
The Special Olympics brought four teams down from Carlsbad for the clinic — consisting of an all-male, all-female, co-ed squads, as well as a skills group for players who cannot run the floor or are working up to it. The hour-and-a-half practice saw the teams pair up with their respective Triton counterparts for drills and games. This year, the focus was on spreading out the floor and shooting from 10 feet.
The first hour included a warm-up of static and dynamic stretches, which soon transitioned into drills. The players practiced dribbling around cones, lay-ups, and other shots from farther out. The all-male team even ran through a passing drill honing in on the "spreading the floor" objective, which meant passing the ball five times to find the open man before taking a shot.
"My favorite part so far has been having fun, enjoying my time," Sid, a member of the all-male team, said.
Sid's mother, Nandita added: "I remember last year, they had printed posters of each athlete. Sid still has it in his room…They are role models."
Just like any Triton practice, the last portion was dedicated to scrimmages, where the athletes put their new skills to the test. The co-ed squad played against an amalgam of Tritons and Special Olympic athletes alike. The all-male squad split up to play each other, while the all-female team played against UC San Diego's women's team.
"This event just shows you how much the community comes together," senior Parker Montgomery said. "Playing against them, watching it all come together during the game time really was cool to see."
With a plethora of made baskets under their belt, the clinic came to an end with a couple of chants. Of course, the day was commemorated with a team picture featuring all six teams throwing up the three-finger trident.
"Every student should be hanging out with special kids," Nandita said. "They learn more than what they are learning from them. It teaches them compassion, empathy, and that each one of us are so talented."
All the Special Olympics athletes went home with a t-shirt as well, a worthy prize for over an hour of non-stop action.
"At the end of the day, there's a lot of smiles, and everybody's had a good little workout," Special Olympics coach Rich Cavagnaro said.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America accolades, while 38 have received prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among NCAA Division I and II institutions.
