Two Warren Township basketball teams heading to Special Olympics Championships: ‘It gives them a sense of belonging’

For the first time, two basketball teams from the Warren Special Recreation Association (WRSA) are heading downstate to the Illinois Special Olympics Championships for basketball.

The Rockets Gold and Rockets Red teams have qualified for the state championships on their own in past years, but this will be the first time the teams get to compete together.

Amanda Massong, staff member for WRSA and coach for the Rockets Red, said the opportunity to attend the competition together is “amazing” for the athletes because they are all friends.

“They’re definitely getting very excited, and they’re ready to compete and hopefully get the gold medal downstate,” Massong said.

A community send-off on Friday in Gurnee was going to kick off the team’s journey to the state championships.

At a Special Olympics regional tournament in February, the WRSA basketball teams came out on top out of more than 35 teams from Lake, Cook and McHenry counties. Winning the tournament promoted the teams to compete at the state championships at Illinois State University in Normal.

The athletes’ goal for the basketball season, which starts in mid-October and ends in mid-February, is always to make it to state championships, Massong said.

The Special Olympics and WSRA provide year-round sports and activities for children and adults with disabilities. Founded in 1981, WSRA provides recreation services to the Gurnee Park District, Grandwood Park Park District, Lindenhurst Park District, Warren Township and Wildwood Park District.

Volunteer coach for the Rockets Gold John Hannon started coaching 20 years ago when his son, Sean, joined WSRA.

Hannon said the Gold team’s season started rocky after the team lost one of their best players and the first four games. But the team turned the season around at the Special Olympics regional tournament and ended up taking first place – and a spot at the state championship tournament.

“This is their community,” Hannon said. “It gives them a place where they can be competitive, and they’re with people who are like them.”

At the regional tournament in February, Massong said the final game for the Rockets Red team was very close and competitive, with the teams scoring back and forth.

“When they realized we got up with like two minutes left, they started thinking ‘Oh yeah, we’re gonna win,’” she said about the Red team’s game. “They ran over to us screaming, cheering and jumping and up down saying, ‘We’re going to state’ and ‘Number one.’”

Growing up, Massong attended all of her younger sister’s Special Olympic events. From that experience, she knew she wanted to work with people with disabilities. Her sister, Lauren, plays on the Rockets Red team.

For Hannon, one of the joys of coaching Special Olympics basketball is watching the players’ skills grow year after year. Hannon also loves the challenge of making each athlete successful with the skills and abilities they already possess.

The Rockets Gold and Red teams are co-ed and made up of athletes ranging from teenagers to 40-year-olds. Most of the athletes come back and compete each year, some having been on the teams for more than two decades.

“I always treat (my team) like regular players, and coach them as a regular team,” Hannon said. “Some of them I’ve been coaching for 10 years, and every year they just get a little bit better, and that’s what’s fun to see.”

In high school sports, there is often a championship game that athletes travel for elsewhere in the state. Massong appreciates that the Special Olympics provides a similar experience.

“It gives them a sense of belonging,” she said. “It’s really important for them to experience and feel that as well.”

chilles@chicagotribune.com

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