Unified Flag Football Kickoff Clinic Draws Enthusiastic Crowd in Queens
District 75 Athletes and Unified Partners Enjoy Nearly Two-Hour Kickoff Event with Expert Coaching
By Randy Robertson, NYC Regional Storyteller
Bellerose, N.Y. – Nearly 200 athletes and unified partners grabbed for flags and dove for balls at a football clinic on September 29 in Queens.
The third annual Unified Flag Football Kickoff Clinic was presented by Special Olympics New York with partners from the New York Jets and New York City District 75 public schools. There were athletes and partners running, spinning, reaching and soaring all over the turf field at Queens High School of Teaching.
Dozens of players and coaches looked forward to this day for a long time, and the positive effects may last even longer.
“The kids are always excited to see the coaching, they’re excited to go through the stations, and they’re excited to see their friends from other schools,” P993Q Tigers coach Victor Pantopoulos said Tuesday afternoon. “There’s also a great carryover effect into the school. They look to practice more in their physical education classes and in the after-school practice sessions for our team.”
Coach Victor led the Tigers to the State Summer Games unified basketball championship in Utica this past June, so he knows the value of seeing the athletes and partners work hard together in practice.
Like many unified sports events, where athletes with intellectual disabilities play alongside general education partners, the clinic was conducted at a challenging but thoughtful level. Participants could be seen laughing and cheering and having a great time throughout the nearly two-hour clinic.
“At the Jets, we believe football is for everybody,” said MacKenzie Fuller of the Jets Community Relations team. “Here at our clinic, we’re able to bring together students through Unified Special Olympics to make football more inclusive. Out here they’re learning throwing, catching, running routes, agility, they have step-overs out there so they’re learning and they can figure out what position they want to play throughout the season before our championships in November.”
There were athletes from 13 schools across New York City at the clinic. The teams stayed clustered together as they processed through a series of drills to learn the skills Fuller mentioned. Each of the stations was led by coaches from the Jets community relations staff and volunteers from corporate sponsor Moodys.
The Special Olympics New York Unified Flag Football season starts October 17 in NYC and runs three weeks, with each team playing two games per date for a total of six games apiece. There will be 16 schools competing this season, with all regular season games played at the Queens High School of Teaching. The finals will be held on the Jets’ home field at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey on November 2.
Yuki Yamada is the Director of School Wellness for District 75 public schools across the city’s five boroughs. He oversees adaptive physical education programs, so he’s elated to witness the progress that Special Olympics New York has made in the past three years with the Unified Flag Football program.
“As you see from looking around, it’s all smiles and happy yelling and screaming,” Yamada said. “Excitement is in the air, and I’m pretty sure they’ll take this back to their school and talk about it with others. It’s not just about today and sports, it’s about the community engagement.”
There were plenty of smiles and eager athletes riding the bus Tuesday morning from lower Manhattan to Queens, according to P721M City Hawks Coach Eric Markiewicz. Coach Eric said that his team is on the younger side this year after several talented athletes graduated last spring. While he is happy to know those departed players will continue with Special Olympics New York community-based teams, Coach Eric was also excited to bring the younger City Hawks players to the Unified Flag Football Kickoff Clinic.
“At this clinic the newer players get to acclimate to the Special Olympics rules, and they also get to acclimate with other schools that we’ll be playing against, so it’s a lot of new experiences for them,” Coach Eric said. “We have a lot of freshmen and underclassmen that are expecting the world, and we’re going to give it to them.”
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