HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's and women's basketball programs welcomed a group of Special Olympians to the Gooding '84 Arena on Tuesday. While on campus, the Delaware County Special Olympics team took part in two-hour clinic.
During the instruction period, the players took part in basketball skill group. This eventually prepared the athletics for competition against the varsity athletes to conclude the night in five-on-five play.
"Our program at Special Olympics Delaware County Basketball has benefitted greatly though our many years of involvement with Haverford College," said head coach Gene Delaney. "You can tell by the many smiles worn throughout the night by our athletes -- from our one-on-one drills with Haverford, to having our athletes' names announced before the high-five tunnel created by the students, to our full-court games with the Ford athletes -- all of our kids leave the gym with a sense of accomplishment and a wide smile!"
The clinic is another example of Haverford's commitment to the NCAA Division III Special Olympics initiative. The NCAA encourages D-III student-athletes across the country to participate in existing Special Olympics events, create their own events, or otherwise serve to support Special Olympics organization.
The purpose of the NCAA's initiative is to improve the lives of Special Olympics athletes through their involvement with D-III student-athletes and to foster a mutual learning experience between D-III student-athletes and Special Olympics athletes.