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Local basketball team wins Special Olympics state champion title


Local basketball team wins Special Olympics state champion title (WKRC)
Local basketball team wins Special Olympics state champion title (WKRC)
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ANDERSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKRC) - Most young athletes dream of becoming a champion, but the reality is that only a few will achieve the goal.

For some, though, the opportunities just aren’t there. But there is a basketball team in Hamilton County that won’t accept the phrase “you can’t,” and they call themselves the Dragons.

"I like basketball because you can interact with people you don't know,” said 19-year-old Daniel Jones.

Jones and his teammates are members of the Special Needs Athletic Program, or SNAP.

"It's a lot of fun, and I like playing with new people and new friends,” said 22-year-old Brian Long.

In SNAP, there are numerous sports teams and different age ranges of athletes. A select few make up the Special Olympics teams in each sport.

On the hardwood, the Special Olympics basketball teams have had recent success in the state tournament, making it to a couple of Final Fours. This year though, the team came home state champions.

"It feels really good to win a state championship. Yeah,” said Long.

Long, or Big B, as his teammates call him, scored 37 points in the championship game. The Dragons won 60-25.

"I'm just happy for my team; they played hard. They show up,” said Jones.

SNAP isn’t just a chance for these young men to play basketball. It gives them a place to belong to, a place where they matter.

"Michael, with his autism, he's not very social, so this really helps with his social skills. He tends to look to the older boys to see what they are doing and tries to emulate them, so it really brings him out of his shell,” said Karen Laney about her son who’s played on the team for a decade.

As much as it’s about making new friends and staying active, this team brings together two old neighbors: Jones, the player, and Luke Massa, a coach.

Massa played high school sports at St. Xavier High School and football at the University of Notre Dame. He says Jones was always right there with him.

"He was my number one fan,” said Massa. “So, after graduating college, his dad asked me if I wanted to help out with the team, and I couldn't say no. "

For Jones, having his friend back home is something that makes him happy.

"It makes my day special. I go up to him and hug him at practice and before games, and it makes me warm in my heart,” said Jones.

This is the first time a team from Hamilton County has won the Special Olympics state championship in basketball.

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