November 9, 2005
Students have a ball
Special needs students play football with St. Francis players
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Faces beaming, seven special needs students kicked, threw, ran and tackled with five members of the St. Francis High School football team.
Romping under sunny skies at Thirlby Field last Wednesday afternoon, the TMI special education students at Glenn Loomis Elementary School eagerly played and learned some of the basics of the game. The junior high age students also tried on shoulder pads and a helmet for a brief stint as an honorary Gladiator, getting their picture taken with the players.
For more than an hour, the students reveled in the glory of the all-American sport.
"It was cool, man, it was awesome!" said Alex Juhala, 13.
Juhala's motorized wheelchair gobbled up yards and he screamed with delight as everyone roared up and down the field, zeroing in on the ball and its fleeing carrier. When one of the larger St. Francis players had possession, the special needs students efficiently swarmed him to the ground. The St. Francis players just could not keep up with their smaller and younger opponents, who successfully scored many times during the informal drills.
St. Francis participants were the winning football team's captains, all seniors: Dane Moeggenberg, Billy Auxier, Chad Biggar, Hunter Nostrant and Patrick Rigan. The students were quick learners, some tossing perfect spirals with their mentors, others completing hefty kicks, both drop and place.
"I think it's great, it's fun," said Nostrant. "They have a lot of energy and they like to run around."
The two groups came together thanks to a new program at the high school: Special Sports. Started this fall by senior Kelley Gavignan, a senior at St. Francis High School and a varsity cheerleader, the program will bring players from different sports to the TMI special needs classroom at Glenn Loomis once a month all year.
The program launched when Gavignan and four other St. Francis cheerleaders visited with students in a classroom where her mother, Penny DeMoulpied, is a teacher's aid. They taught students some cheers and stunts, learned a new cheer from the kids and handed out small pom pons to participants.
"They loved it, doing cheers, it was wonderful," said Deanne Talantis, a teacher's aid. "They talked about it for days."
Coming to class with her friends last month was just an extension of many hours that Gavignan spent visiting special needs classrooms growing up.
"My mom has worked with special education kids since I was in fourth grade and I'd go over to her school after school and hang out with the kids until she was done," said Gavignan, who hopes to attend the University of Michigan next fall.
Gavignan has tapped members of the St. Francis girls basketball team for December's visit and will line up other sports for the rest of the school year.
Special Sports connected with Glenn Loomis students in part because of the school's proximity to St. Francis High School - it is just five blocks away. In fact, before the program started last month, the TMI students walked with their teacher, Deb McColl, over to St. Francis to deliver a letter to St. Francis principal Rob Bridges.
Gavignan envisions that other high schools will pair up with special ed classrooms to create more Special Sports programs
"I'm really hoping it grows," Gavignan said. "I really hope it gets bigger because the kids love it."
Besides the special education kids, who revel in all the experiences, Special Sports days bring unexpected delights to all involved.
"I never know how the day will go, we just kind of stand back and watch," said DeMoulpied. "We take lots of pictures and we send one home with the kids so their families can see."