Individual Skills Basketball — Coordinator: Lavonne Smith, lavonne_smith@hcpss.org & ldsmith51@comcast.net; Head Coach: Alvin Mineart, mineart@comcast.net
Please click here to see our practice and event calendar.
Practice Location:
The Individual Skills team provides meaningful competition for athletes with lower ability levels. This event is NOT for athletes who can already play the game. There are three events make up the Individual Skills Contest: Target Pass, 10-Meter Dribble and Spot Shot. The athlete’s final score is determined by adding together the scores achieved in each of these three events. Athletes will be pre-divisioned prior to any competition according to their total scores from previous events. If the athlete does not have an established score then they will be division after these three events. Please click on each event to see a full description:
Each event is diagrammed with the suggested number and placement of volunteers who will administer them. It is also suggested that the same volunteers remain at an event throughout the competition so that consistency is provided.
Guidelines for Individual Skills program:
- The Skills program is NOT a babysitting program. Most of the athletes in this program are lower functioning and require more attention than the team based programs. We request that when you sign up your athlete for this event, please make plans to stay. If there becomes a situation with any athlete, we must be able to quickly reach their parent, aide or guidance counselor immediately.
- It is requested that ALL athletes attend the Skills Assessment at the beginning of each year to ensure they are in the right basketball program. That will provide them with the greatest level of achievement, success and enjoyment.
- If your athlete requires a one-on-one aide, please note that we may not have enough volunteers to provide this level of support. So please make arrangements to have an aide with them or be there to support them yourself. We want every athlete to get the best experience possible.
In order to compete in any Special Olympics Sanctioned event, every athlete must be able to stay with the group with which they are assigned. They cannot leave the group and run around the gym, they will be disqualified.
Wheelchair athletes: While we will make every attempt to support all athletes at all times, we may not have enough volunteers to provide this level of support. So please make arrangements to have an aide with them or be there to support them yourself. We want every athlete to get the best experience possible. During our practice sessions, we have a great deal of flexibility to work with athletes to ensure they can meet the requirements for each event on their own. One event in particular, the Ten Meter Dribble, requires that a wheelchair athlete: must alternate, taking two pushes followed by two dribbles for legal dribbling. The athlete may easily be able to fulfill the requirements for the other two events, this event is very specific. If the athlete cannot perform the required task, then the athlete may not be able to compete “officially” and may be disqualified for that event.
