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PITTSBURG —
The New Hope Bulldogs took off from Pittsburg Thursday morning with a goal: To win the Special Olympics Softball National Championship in Oklahoma City, Okla., this weekend.
The team, which has won six regional championships, seven state championships and nine southeast area championships, is one of only eight teams selected to participate in the tournament. The team has been playing for the last nine years and is the first Kansas team to qualify for the tournament. The team, which is coached by John Lair, Rosie West and Aaron Thompson, will return late Sunday night after the medals have been awarded.
Making the tournament isn’t easy, Lair said.
“You have to qualify at the local games, and we won our local, regional and state tournaments,” Lair said. “We’re playing against the top eight teams in the nation.”
The Bulldogs may be rookies at the tournament, but they’re still one of the best in the nation.
“I think they’re a little star struck right now,” Lair said. “We got here and have been treated like royalty. We’ve been playing softball for basically six months now, and this is the last hurrah. They’re excited to get out there and play on the national stage.”
The stage, at the American Softball Association stadium, is a nice one, too.
“They’re telling us they’re some of the best fields in the nation,” Lair said.
Tomorrow will be paired with other teams to see how they will be paired during round-robin games on Saturday. They will play all day Saturday, and the medal rounds are on Sunday.
Second baseman Chevi Peters said he was excited for the chance show the country what New Hope is all about.
“It means a lot to me and to the team,” Peters said. “It’s a great experience to come to nationals and meet other people and players from all over the U.S. I’m looking forward to just having fun. If win, we’ll bring it back home and hopefully we’ll get a banner.”
Even if the Bulldogs don’t win, they’ll learn a valuable lesson, said Helen Cherry, vice president of special programs.
“The most important thing is the qualities the athletes develop in the sports they play,” Cherry said. “It’s not only sportsmanship. It builds their self-confidence and their ability to interact with other people. They become very comfortable in who they are and what their capabilities are.
Cherry said Lair’s ability to get the players to buy in and his ability as a coach shows up in the players.
“It takes a lot of commitment and dedication on his part, and they see that,” Cherry said. “They’d miss about anything before they’d miss practice.”
The New Hope Bulldogs took off from Pittsburg Thursday morning with a goal: To win the Special Olympics Softball National Championship in Oklahoma City, Okla., this weekend.
The team, which has won six regional championships, seven state championships and nine southeast area championships, is one of only eight teams selected to participate in the tournament. The team has been playing for the last nine years and is the first Kansas team to qualify for the tournament. The team, which is coached by John Lair, Rosie West and Aaron Thompson, will return late Sunday night after the medals have been awarded.
Making the tournament isn’t easy, Lair said.
“You have to qualify at the local games, and we won our local, regional and state tournaments,” Lair said. “We’re playing against the top eight teams in the nation.”
The Bulldogs may be rookies at the tournament, but they’re still one of the best in the nation.
“I think they’re a little star struck right now,” Lair said. “We got here and have been treated like royalty. We’ve been playing softball for basically six months now, and this is the last hurrah. They’re excited to get out there and play on the national stage.”
The stage, at the American Softball Association stadium, is a nice one, too.
“They’re telling us they’re some of the best fields in the nation,” Lair said.
Tomorrow will be paired with other teams to see how they will be paired during round-robin games on Saturday. They will play all day Saturday, and the medal rounds are on Sunday.
Second baseman Chevi Peters said he was excited for the chance show the country what New Hope is all about.
“It means a lot to me and to the team,” Peters said. “It’s a great experience to come to nationals and meet other people and players from all over the U.S. I’m looking forward to just having fun. If win, we’ll bring it back home and hopefully we’ll get a banner.”
Even if the Bulldogs don’t win, they’ll learn a valuable lesson, said Helen Cherry, vice president of special programs.
“The most important thing is the qualities the athletes develop in the sports they play,” Cherry said. “It’s not only sportsmanship. It builds their self-confidence and their ability to interact with other people. They become very comfortable in who they are and what their capabilities are.
Cherry said Lair’s ability to get the players to buy in and his ability as a coach shows up in the players.
“It takes a lot of commitment and dedication on his part, and they see that,” Cherry said. “They’d miss about anything before they’d miss practice.”
