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23
Steve Stein
Contributing
Writer
I
riendship Circle teamed up
with a national sports company
this winter to offer an inclusive
basketball league that broke ground for
both organizations.
Youngsters with special needs from
Friendship Circle played on the same
teams with other athletes in a league that
had three age divisions.
Friendship Circle worked with Tampa,
Fla.-based i9 Sports in organizing and
running the 72-player league, which was
held on seven Sundays in Friendship
Circle's Florene Elkus & Edward Elkus
Memorial Gym in West Bloomfield.
From all accounts, the league was a
success even though it was a first-time
effort for both organizations.
Friendship Circle, which provides
assistance and support for more than
3,000 families of children with special
needs, is approaching its 20th anniver-
sary.
Launched in 2000, i9 Sports focuses
on children who want to play sports but
not at a highly competitive level.
According to the company's website, it
has more than 600,000 members in 500
communities from New York to Hawaii,
and its core principles are fun, safety,
convenience and good sportsmanship.
"We decided to work with i9 Sports
because they have the same values as
we do. We want sports to be inclusive
and fun, with the emphasis away from
the scoreboard," said Catie Quinn,
Friendship Circle's program manager.
Chris Novak, area developer for i9
Sports, said the company was looking
for a gym in the West Bloomfield area it
could rent for a basketball league when
the partnership with Friendship Circle
was formed.
The one-hour-and-15 minute session
each Sunday began with a half-hour of
drills in areas like passing the basketball
and man-to-man defense, then conclud-
ed with a 45-minute game.
During games, players received equal
playing time and at least one opportunity
to bring the ball up the court.
And there were other rules like requir-
ing three passes in an offensive posses-
sion before a shot.
There were 35 children in the PeeWee
Division for ages 4-6, 20 in the Youth
Division for ages 7-9 and 17 in the
Senior Division for ages 10-13.
About 20 players with special needs
were involved in the three divisions.
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Novak said there was an 80-20 split
in favor of non-special needs athletes
on teams in the PeeWee Division and a
60-40 split in the Youth Division. Senior
Division teams were split evenly.
Parent and high school-age volunteers
and i9 staff organized and ran practices
and officiated games.
The score of each game was kept, but
not on the scoreboard.
"We want to teach kids the right way
to win and lose Novak said.
Quinn called the league a wonderful
program.
"It provided our kids with a serious
sports experience, and an opportunity
for skill development and growth:' she
said.
"Some amazing friendships were
formed between the kids — they invited
each other to family events — and every-
one was a true teammate:'
Bassie Shemtov, Friendship Circle
director and co-founder, applauded the
league.
"The idea of the league was to promote
inclusion and compassion:' she said.
"Both groups of children benefited. The
more typically abled kids learned empa-
thy, teamwork and other life lessons:'
Novak said from talking with i9 Sports
staff, the league functioned so well that
forming another basketball league next
winter with Friendship Circle is a dis-
tinct possibility.
There's even talk of a fall league,
perhaps volleyball. i9 Sports is involved
in many sports, including coach-pitch
baseball, tee-ball, flag football, lacrosse
and soccer.
Salute These Golfers
Thanks to the generosity of two spon-
sors, wounded U.S. soldiers will play
in the Hank Greenberg Memorial Golf
Invitational presented by the Michigan
Jewish Sports Foundation.
The 24th annual invitational will be
held Monday, June 9, at Franklin Hills
Country Club in Farmington Hills.
The sponsors for the golfers from
the nonprofit Salute Military Golf
Association are Peter Karmanos of Mad
Dog Technology and Stephanie and
Jared Miller.
For more information, visit www.
michiganjewishsports.org or contact
David Blatt, executive director of the
Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation,
at dblatt@michiganjewishsports.org or
(248) 592-9323.
❑
Send news to sports@thejewishnews.com .