Abbey Heighton grabbed the basketball, pushed up the court through considerable traffic, and dropped in a lay-up. Caleb Caines, Olivia Garrett, and Lillian Fink quickly got into the scoring action. Luke Maze ran from bucket to bucket with the stamina of a caffeinated hummingbird, rebounding, dropping in points in the paint, and firing 3-point shots.
On Groundhog Day, Week 5 of the Challenger League in the Russell Primary School gymnasium was underway. Nobody cared about weather or shadows. In fact, these games are about spotlighting those who are often coldly pushed to the shadows by society.
According to Fanny Maze, Luke's mother, the league was started last year as a way to give special needs children the opportunity to play sports. “Amy McGuire (special education director in the Russell School System) and Paul Pack (commissioner of the local Marv Meredith League) started it,” she said, adding the school also runs a similarly organized baseball league. “Bryan Groves (Russell High School head basketball coach) got involved,” Fanny added, pointing out several Red Devils who were assisting the players on the court.
Sitting in the bleachers during the game, Fanny provided names for many of the players. “Number 7 is Josh Caines. He's Caleb's brother,” she noted, connecting more names to the numbers worn by Gavin Jones, Guillermo Malave, Spencer Nichols, Michael Johnson, and others. And, of course, she cheered for her son.
“Pass the ball, Luke,” she yelled with a slight laugh, perhaps knowing her words would be ignored. Luke, a 16-year-old eleventh-grader with Down syndrome, scored 30 points in the previous week's game. He scored at least that many points in this game, although the final tally will never be known. No official records are kept in the Challenger League. But for Luke, his teammates, and opposing players, these games are important.
“Yeah!,” Luke roared multiple times after a score, dragging his exclamation out in a low baritone while thumping his chest in elation. Heighton went on a scoring spree with a flurry of points toward the end of regulation, finishing the game exactly as she started it.
Spencer Nichols showed his enthusiasm in a different way. As the game played on, he made rounds, checking on people in the bleachers and running aimlessly from one side of the court to the other, his huge smile a persistent companion. Late in the game, Paige Maze, Luke's father and a team coach, pulled Spencer from his self-assumed mascot role into the live action. Moments later, Spencer sank the only shot he took all day. The smile got even bigger.
Lillian Fink, her brown hair in a ponytail and headphones over her ears to ease sensitivity to noise, not only scored during the game, without care for whose basket she put the ball into, but also took practice shots during halftime while the rest of the players were taking a breather. Caleb Caines broke into a spirited solo dance routine to the beat shelled out by the gymnasium speakers at the end of the third period. Parents and family members cheered and laughed throughout the game, rooting for both teams.
In early January, the Challenger League kids played during halftime of the rivalry game between Russell and Ashland. “It's a great thing for the community,” Paige said. “After they played that game, I had people stop me and say how surprised they were at the level some of our kids played.” The kids showcased their talents at halftime of the Ashland/Russell game on February 15 in the Marvin Meredith Gymnasium, the regular season finale for both teams.
Groves, who has been involved with the league since its inception, noted the impact the Challenger League kids have on his players. “In my experience with kids with disabilities, people are afraid of them,” he said. “Last year, (his players) were a little timid. This year, we encouraged them to actually touch the kids and guide them. It's humbled them and taught them a lot of life lessons.”
Following the game, the players lined up and shook hands. When the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard read 44-28, but nobody seemed to care who won the game. Everybody acted like they won.
For the following game between the league's other two teams, Luke took over as the scoreboard operator and commentator to anyone willing to listen. Several Ashland basketball players, a team for which he serves as manager, flanked him in a show of support. The Tomcats and Red Devils are rivals on every court but this one, thanks to the perspectives gained via these special needs kids.
According to Paige, 31 kids from seven local school districts signed up to comprise the four teams in this year's Challenger League. He and Groves both stated their mission is to make the league bigger and better every year.
“It gives them an opportunity to just be kids,” Paige said. “The way sports is set up, they don't usually get that chance.”
Thanks to the Challenger League, now they do.
