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Special needs kids shine in Polar Bears basketball

Colin Connor was one of the first Polar Bears. Now there are 46 children from across the Miami Valley on the teams – and a waiting list.

Charles Caperton Colin Connor was one of the first Polar Bears. Now there are 46 children from across the Miami Valley on the teams – and a waiting list.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Polar Bears Basketball volunteer coach Marty Malloy assists Maria Fox with a slam dunk at the Far Hills Community Church on Clyo Road, the home court for the Centerville league designed for special needs children.

Charles Caperton Polar Bears Basketball volunteer coach Marty Malloy assists Maria Fox with a slam dunk at the Far Hills Community Church on Clyo Road, the home court for the Centerville league designed for special needs children.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Polar Bears player Megan Lee, 11, receives high-fives from family members and coaches in a victory circle at Far Hills Community Church on Clyo Road.

Charles Caperton Polar Bears player Megan Lee, 11, receives high-fives from family members and coaches in a victory circle at Far Hills Community Church on Clyo Road.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Photos: Special kids get chance to play

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By Tom Archdeacon, Staff Writer Updated 2:04 PM Monday, February 13, 2012

CENTERVILLE — He was starting to get that Jordan feeling.

“Mom, I gotta go out. They’re going to make a big announcement,” Joshua Sanders told his mom with a bit of urgency as he began to pull away toward the gymnasium door. “I gotta go for the announcement.”

When the coaches had called for a water break during basketball practice, 9-year-old Joshua had headed over to his mother, Sonya Saunders, who sat on a chair alongside other parents beyond the baseline of the court.

He had given her a loving hug, but soon was intent on joining his teammates — some giggling and chattering, others already rolling their shoulders and bobbing their heads to an imaginary beat — as they headed to the water fountain.

Never has a water break been met with more enthusiasm, more anticipation than it has at Polar Bears practice on Saturday mornings at Far Hills Community Church.

That’s because it’s not about break time — it’s the prelude to “Show Time!”

As the kids headed out the door, Tim Meyer, one of the volunteer coaches, flipped on the music. Out on the gym floor, fellow coach Eric Hilgeford picked up a microphone and instantly turned into one of those bombastic ring announcers you find at a heavyweight title fight.

Meanwhile, Sonya and the other parents, family members, coaches and teenage helpers began to crowd the sidelines until the whole court was framed with familiar faces.

By now the kids had lined up in the hallway just beyond the door. That’s when 2 Unlimited’s “Get Ready For This” began to fill the gym just as it does UD Arena for Dayton Flyers games.

And once Hannah Foister, a fifth-grade helper from Temple Christian who serves as Saturday morning cheerleader, came running out with two friends, all of them shaking pompoms, Eric went to work:

“Ladies and gentlemen ... introducing the 2012 Polar Bears ... first up, No. 4, my little sweetheart, Megan ... run like the wind, Megan.”

And with that 11-year-old Megan Lee pushed her glasses up her nose, raised her arms to the heavens, came running out and headed straight for the line of parents and friends, high-fiving every outstretched hand she passed.

One by one her teammates followed, some busting dance moves first, others motioning to the cheering crowd to crank up the roar, all laughing as they ran into the heady setting and joined the kids who preceded them in what had become a center-court disco.

They say the Kentucky Derby is the most exciting two minutes in sports, but the Polar Bears introductions are the most joyous five minutes you’ll find anywhere.

Polar Bears basketball is for special needs children. Most have Down syndrome, a few are autistic and almost all seem to have the showman gene when the introductions begin.

“I just live for this,” beamed Hilgeford, who is a commercial real-estate agent. “I’m blessed to see their faces light up when they hear their name and come running out. For an instant, they feel like Michael Jordan.”

And should any youngster get momentary stage fright, there are volunteers such as Marty Malloy, a Dayton attorney, who on this day wore a T-shirt that said “Never, Never Quit” as he put an arm around Ben Grebner and made the high-five trot with him.

The session usually wraps up with an animated, center-court rendition of the Village People’s “YMCA,” but not last Saturday on the eve of the Super Bowl.

“Today, we have a special treat,” Hilgeford said. “The Super Bowl may have Madonna, but we have Morgan.”

That’s when one of the older Bears, Morgan Stoddard — a small 22-year-old whose long dark locks were held back by a sparkly, rhinestone-studded hair band — took the microphone, blinked a few times and then sang her rendition of “God Bless America.”

When she began to falter, Adam Flowers, a beefy 16-year-old Centerville High School sophomore, ambled over and made it a duet. Soon the rest of the Bears had crowded in, too, and they ended the song with a full-throated, nearly-on-key chorus.

‘A sense of pride’

Seven years ago Chris Connor was sitting next to Meyer at an Alter High basketball game. Both had sons playing for the Knights.

Chris also had 11-year-old Colin, whose Down syndrome is eclipsed by his basketball jones and his ease in front of a crowd.

“Colin used to go out on the court before Alter games and at halftime and shoot around, and he’d always make quite a few,” Chris remembered. “One day Tim leaned over and said, ‘If you ever want to get a team together for him, I’d be willing to coach it.’ ”

Meyer, who has a sister with Down syndrome, laughed as he remembered her response: “Two weeks later she had a team of eight kids and a place to practice.”

After a couple of weeks of dribbling and passing, the kids were split into two teams for a game that soon defined Polar Bear basketball.

“I remember a kid on the blue team made a basket, and a kid on the white team gave him a big high-five,” Meyer said with a laugh. “I said, ‘Hey, he’s not on your team,’ and the kid says, ‘I don’t care, Coach. That was a good shot.’ And that’s what this is all about.”

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