One of our winter Special Olympics sports is basketball. Team G Basketball runs from January to March with practice at Gigi’s Playhouse in St. Louis Park. Players of all levels are encouraged to join. Those that are just starting to play basketball or are gaining more confidence in their skills will work on passing, shooting, and dribbling and can compete in individual skills. Unified Partners can be paired with a traditional athlete for competition. For those athletes that are more advanced and ready for team play, they may be invited to play on half court team. Half Court team does not have Unified Partners, only skills.
Practices are held weekly (usually on Sunday early evenings) for an hour. The team warms up together and then starts working on skills and drills based on their level. Team assignments are done in the first couple weeks by grouping athletes of similar ability and determining if they are going to be playing half court or working on individual skills. Half court teams play 3 on 3 and range from 4-6 players on a team, full court teams range from 8-10 players. At this point Team G does not have a full court team. We focus on conditioning and developing skills to the best of their abilities by using lots of encouragement and positive feedback.
When we attend Area and State meets, teams are put into divisions according to their general ability. Area Meet is held in April and State Meet is in June. In order to participate in the State meet, an athlete must participate in the Area Meet. If an athlete prefers not to be a part of competition please make sure the head coach knows at the beginning of the season so that teams have the required number of athletes for a team. Athletes are only allowed to compete in one sport at State Games.
Athletes wear comfortable athletic clothing for practices with a good pair of tennis shoes. (We ask that athletes bring their shoes and change into them to keep the gym floor clean and dry). All athletes receive a Team G jersey and t-shirt and many choose to wear them to practices.
Please see specialolympicsminnesota.org/sports/basketball for more information.
Practices:
Practices are held at Gigi’s Playhouse and are split into “Skills Only” and “Game Play” practices to accommodate all skill levels and ages of our athletes. An email will be sent assigning your athlete to a group by coaches.
Skills Only:
- Works on the basics and mechanics of basketball – dribbling, passing, and shooting. Generally for beginners and younger players that are not yet ready for 3-on-3.
- If you are unsure if your athlete is ready for 3-on-3 practice, please reach out to Karen to discuss (kryandvi@gmail.com)
- Saturdays 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. beginning January 18, 2020
- Season ends after Area Meet
Game Play:
- Practice for those athletes who know the basic skills of basketball. May be ready for 3-on-3 game play or getting close to learning mechanics of game play.
- Sundays 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. beginning January 19, 2020
- Season ends after Area Meet / Regional Tournament (whichever is later)
Area Meet: April 25th, 2019 (available for skills and 3-on-3 game play)
Regional Tournament: TBD (3-on-3 game play ONLY)
Summer Games: Team G does not participate in basketball for summer games. Practices end after Area Meet.
