To view photos of the AHA Basketball Fun Night at CR South , visit the photo gallery(Girls' Basketball) at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
‘Creating a world of better acceptance for all.’ Athletes Helping Athletes
HOLLAND – The scene was a poignant one.Charlie Anastasi and Aaron Morgan – captains of this year’s district runner-up Council Rock North basketball team – watched intently as one of the young participants in Monday’s Athletes Helping Athletes Basketball Fun Night reluctantly took one dribble with the basketball he had been clutching in his hands.
Anastasi and Morgan as well as their peers from the Rock North basketball team applauded and raised their fists in the air in jubilation. It was just one dribble, but it required more effort and more encouragement than all the dribbles Anastasi, Morgan and their teammates had taken put together over the course of a magical season.
“This puts things in perspective,” Anastasi said. “We go out, and we have so much fun playing this game. Just to see these kids dribble the ball once – it means so much to them.
“For me, the best thing about this night is obviously, there’s a bunch of smiles on the faces of the AHA athletes, but if you look around, the volunteers have even bigger smiles on their faces. That’s what means so much about this. Every time I go and help out, I feel I’m being rewarded just as much as the kids. It’s really great, and I’m glad we have so many people out tonight. It’s really special.”More than 70 special needs athletes participated in Monday’s Basketball Fun Night at Council Rock South High School , and while that number was impressive – even more impressive was the fact that there were more than 100 volunteers from a list of neighboring basketball squads that included both the girls’ and boys’ teams from Council Rock North and Council Rock South as well as the girls’ teams from Neshaminy, Archbishop Wood and Archbishop Ryan.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” said AHA president and founder Rick Leonetti. “You look around here – we have seven different high school basketball teams represented. There are some football players, some soccer players and other athletes here as well.
“I would say we have over 20 kids that didn’t sign up to volunteer that just showed up.”Everyone wanted to be involved, and everyone was having a wonderful time.
“Just watching them enjoy this is by far the best part,” said Rock South junior Nick Cocco, who has been involved with AHA since ninth grade. “After they make a shot or make a good play, the expressions on their faces – you can’t really describe it.
“It just makes you appreciate the game that much more. You see how they get excited about the game, and you wish you could be half as excited as them about anything, not just basketball.”
At a nearby basket, a cheer breaks out. Gabriel Wolfe is deaf and cannot speak, but he knows how to communicate his joy as he raises his fists in the air after making a basket.
“He loves this, and he looks forward to coming,” Gabriel’s mother, Ann Wolfe, said. “He is accepted here.
“The regular ed students participate, and he feels like he belongs.”
Talk to the students serving as volunteers, and it’s clear the AHA athletes do belong.“They’re just like us,” Rock North senior Alyssa Jett said. “They’re really no different. They’re just happy to be here, and they love playing basketball.
“The little ones are happy to be running around just like I remember I was when I was their age. It’s great to see that.”
The AHA participants spent nine minutes at each of 10 drill stations that focused on everything from agility to shooting the basketball. The players and coaches from the participating teams ran the drill stations, patiently and lovingly encouraging the AHA athletes along the way.
“This makes me appreciate how much I have,” Jett said. “Just seeing their faces and knowing we have made a difference to them is just great to see. They really appreciate what we do, and coming out here is really special.
“I have been looking forward to doing this all day. It’s just a great time. It makes your whole day when you see them.”
The Neshaminy girls’ team became involved with AHA during the 2009-10 season. It has had life-changing effects.
Senior Jen Slivka was planning to pursue a career as a veterinarian. Since her involvement with AHA, she has opted to change her major. She plans to pursue a career in pediatric physical therapy with the hopes of working with special needs kids.
“Just seeing how special it made all the kids feel and how special it made me feel – I saw I could have an impact in their lives, and I want to keep being a part of this,” Slivka said. “This goes both ways. We learn a lot from each other – they make us happy, and we make them happy.
“The energy in the gym – walking into the gym, you automatically feel how happy everyone is just being here.”
Neshaminy coach Joanne McVey acknowledged that her team’s involvement in the program has changed everything.“I think the word is perspective,” the Redskins’ coach said. “When we just had the basketball, the kids sometimes lost their perspective in terms of the gifts they were given and what they could give back.
“This has really brought us closer as a team. It’s not something that’s measurable in wins and losses, but from a life skills standpoint, this is probably the best thing we could have done for our kids. The way they embrace it – I think it tells you something about the character of our kids, and it’s not just one or two.
“Honestly, I think our kids get more out of this than the kids we’re supposed to be helping. To see the smiles on our kids’ faces when they’re with these kids, it’s just wonderful to be associated with.”
Janet Zuazo has two sons – A.J. and Stephen - who participated in Monday’s AHA event.
“They have such a great time,” she said. “They’re on an even playing field with their abilities, and they can succeed.”
“It really bridges the regular ed with the special needs,” added Wolfe. “I think it really shows the regular ed (athletes) how much harder our children have to work just to do the simple things we take for granted.“There’s a lot of kindness. If you look around, the kids that are here – there’s a lot of kindness.”
“You can’t teach that,” Zuazo said. “That’s something from their hearts, and it’s expanding.
“When it first started, there may have been a handful of volunteers. Tonight there are more volunteers than athletes. I really feel as though the credit should go to the board members of AHA – all these adults that really put themselves out there.”
Wilson Sporting Goods donated basketballs to each of the AHA participants, and each participant also received a medal.
“I’m really happy,” Wolfe said. “When he became disabled, I didn’t think there would be a lot of activities for him.
“We wanted our kids to be out there and to be a part of society, and that can be hard because not everyone is very accepting of special needs, but Rick Leonetti has done a wonderful job, and he’s really been able to bridge the two worlds together.”
CR South boys’ basketball coach John Easterly, who helped coordinate Monday’s event, smiled when asked about his program’s involvement with AHA.“All the head coaches here – we want to instill in our kids that life is bigger than a game,” the Golden Hawks’ coach said. “When you have events like this, it really keeps things in perspective for you and for our kids.
“I think they’re having as much fun as the participants. Anything that was going on in the day that you were upset about – you come here to something like this, and those little petty things go away.”
It did not go unnoticed that several Council Rock South’s administrators made an appearance at Monday’s event. Nor does it go unnoticed that Leonetti knows each of their children’s names and, beyond that, pays attention to the little details of their lives.
“Rick Leonetti puts the effort in, and by his great personality, he just really radiates acceptance, and everyone wants to be part of it,” Wolfe said.
AHA has provided a place to find love, encouragement and acceptance for not only special needs children. “We have been through it all,” Zuazo said. “We get the looks, we get the stares.
“You hear parents say, ‘We went to our son’s basketball game,’ and now we can say the same thing. This bridges the two worlds together, and you get to experience what they’re experiencing as a parent. You’re cheering for them from the stands just like they’re cheering for their kid too.”
At center court, Leonetti – microphone in hand – is doing his best Louis Armstrong impression, singing a line from ‘What a Wonderful World,’ and although his singing cannot be heard over the loud din in the gymnasium, the message is clear.
Thanks to AHA and the student volunteers, it is a pretty wonderful world.
“Everyone should do this,” Slivka said. “It’s a big eye opener to experience what other people have to go through and to see how you can affect them. It’s a great experience.”
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