Special Olympics Unified Sports mixes South Side students without labels

Mariana Perez crawls through the tunnel at the Special Olympics Illinois Young Athletes event Monday at De La Salle High School.

Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

A South Side high school football field transformed on Monday into a sports training ground for a mix of special needs children and their peers.

Each wearing a light blue shirt that read "Superhero," about 400 grade schoolers practiced their kicks, throws and catches on De La Salle Institute's field at 34th Street and Michigan Avenue.

The ostensible goal of the Special Olympics Illinois Unified Sports program is to teach sports fundamentals to grade schoolers, ages 4 to 7.

But the underlying purpose was to show students they have more in common than they may think.

"They’re all learning to, like jump and kick and strike, and work together without the labels of who's who," said Melissa Garritano, Special Olympics Illinois senior director.

The Unified Sports program aims to help children build friendships among kids with special needs and those without special needs through playing sports at an age when they may not see those differences, Garritano said.

Dominic Dehoyos walks an obstacle course with help from Trinidad Padilla at a Special Olympics event Monday at De La Salle high school.

Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

About 10% of Chicago schools participate in the program, but Special Olympics wants to expand it.

On Monday, about 150 coaches and 170 volunteers helped the children as they rotated from booth to booth, each one focused on a separate fundamental: kicking a soccer ball, hitting a baseball with tennis rackets, walking on a balance beam.

Each child got a ribbon for participation at the end of the event.

Juan Carlos Ramirez, 5, tossed a ball with classmates from Dawes elementary school as his grandparents stood on the sidelines recording video of him on their cellphones.

Juan Carlos Ramirez tosses the ball at the Special Olympics Illinois Young Athletes event Monday at De La Salle high school.

Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

"It's a nice day for this," said grandfather Daniel Ramirez, who traveled from West Lawn with his wife, Yadira.

Children without special needs benefit just as much from the program as the other students, according to Terriane Dale, a classroom assistant for a special needs second grade class at Sutherland Elementary, 10015 S. Leavitt St.

"This is perfect for them," Dale said. "That's why they include kids from the general education class, so they can see they have more in common than they may think."

This is the first year the De La Salle Institute has hosted a Unified Sports event, but the school has been involved with Special Olympics before.

In April, De La Salle won a state championship basketball game — the Unified IHSA Division II — with a team formed with Southside Occupational Academy, a CPS school for students with disabilities.

That partnership, like Monday's Unified Sports program, helps De La Salle's high schoolers learn how to include people with disabilities in their lives, according to De La Salle Principal Tom Schergen.

"They may not always act the same, but they’re looking for that human connection too," Schergen said.

Some young athletes wore capes for the Superhero theme during the Special Olympics Illinois event Monday at De La Salle high school.

Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

Several of the volunteers on the field Monday play on De La Salle's football team.

Schergen, who has an 18-year-old son with autism, understands the value of Unified Sports program and wants to continue it.

"It's been nothing that we would trade," he said. "We hope to continue to be part of this and help move this effort forward."

Students also came from Christopher Elementary, 5042 S. Artesian Ave.; John A. Walsh, 2015 S. Peoria St.; Emmett Till, 6543 S Champlain Ave.; Sadlowski, 3930 E. 105th St.; and JN Thorp, 8914 S. Buffalo Ave.

It was the third Unified Sports event this year. The others were held in April at Navy Pier and in May at Intentional Sports, 1841 N. Laramie Ave., for North and West side schools, respectively.

About 120 schools in Chicago have Unified Sports programs.

"My goal is that any school that has even, like, one student with special ed deserves to be part of this," Garritano said. "We’re going to keep growing more and more as long as we get more students involved."

Dondre Grant shows his running skills during the Special Olympics Illinois Young Athletes event Monday at De La Salle high school.

Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

Ronald Turner concentrates on hitting the ball at the Special Olympics Illinois event at De La Salle high school Monday.

Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times