Bellmore-Merrick Special Education Athletes Respond to "The Challenge"

Calhoun High School has created a wonderful March Madness of its own.

In an ongoing effort to integrate special education students into mainstream student life, educators John Felicciardi, Lauren Miele, Joseph Bianca and Emily Paluseo have just completed the third installment of the Challenger Basketball League.

What started as a small, friendly inter-scholastic mini basketball tournament between Calhoun special education students and students from Seaford, Oceanside and Garden City has flourished into a full blown eight team league that now includes teams from East Rockaway, Herricks, Massapequa and Amityville high schools.

At the outset, expectations were low.  The results have been astonishing.

"This has definitely exceeded our expectations," said Paluseo, head of the special education program at Calhoun.  "The parents love coming to the games as do the staff and students at Calhoun. They are so happy to see their children participating in an activity that centers around kids just having fun. There are high-fives and 'fist pounds' being given all the time."

These sentiments are echoed at the top of the school administration.  Saul Lerner, athletic director for Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, has been thrilled with the process and the results.

"The sportsmanship we see at these games sometimes exceeds that seen in our other competitive sports and teams," said Lerner, who volunteers to officiate all the games. "The kids and the parents absolutely light up at these events."

While fun is important for these students, the benefits extend deep into other areas of their educational and social development and progress. The biggest positive outcome of this extended project seems to have been realized off the hardwood. 

Paluseo explained further.

"This sportsmanship has extended into the classroom where we see students assisting and encouraging each other," she said.  "The students have also developed socially in their interactions. During games, they have to communicate with each other. This gives them a topic to discuss during conversations."

It's apparent that the lessons these student-athletes gain from their basketball experiences are lessons that all students, and all athletes would do well to learn and incorporate into their lives as they move on to higher education and the workforce as young adults.

"Seeing students who have an open shot on the basket, stop and look for a teammate to pass to speaks volumes," Paluseo said. "The students also allow others to shoot. We have taught the kids that the score does not matter, we are playing to have fun."

Most importantly, it appears as though this eight team league is only the beginning for this type of cross district, county-wide enrichment. 

Said Paulseo: "We hope this continues to grow. We began with only a few teams and this year we have many more districts participating. We have added bowling this year and also usually try to play softball in the spring. I have had calls from some other districts. We also have the Bellmore-Merrick Challenge in May which is our own version of the Special Olympics."

With the success realized by this league, and the far reaching positive ramifications the games and competition provide, one wonders why such a thing wasn't organized sooner.

"That's a great question, and I don't have a great answer," said Lerner with an honest and infectious laugh. "All I can say is 'better late than never' and I'm glad somebody (specifically Felicciardi) thought of it when they did."

So Bellmore-Merrick has its own March Madness ... and may it never end. 

Special education students, faculty and parents across the area are getting the very best out of every shot (make or miss), every hard fought rebound, every extra pass and every smile and hug that go with them.