Students and staff at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington
have rallied around the newest club — the Soccer Club — established earlier
this fall to help form a Special Olympics soccer team.
Nine students who receive expanded services at O’Connell
diligently practiced to prepare for three Special Olympic tournaments in the
area. They practiced once a week by themselves and once with the boys or girls
varsity soccer teams and their coaches. The team was coached by two volunteer
teachers — science teacher Christine McGowan and art teacher Trent Jones.
Andrew Rosia, a senior on the varsity boys’ soccer team,
commented on how much he enjoyed practicing with the Special Olympics team,
saying, “It brought me joy to see the smiles on their faces after they scored a
goal.”
During tournament play, everyone on the team was able to
contribute, sharing in the team’s success. The final tournament of the season
was the “Under the Lights Invitational” soccer tournament, hosted by the
Options Program at St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax. At the end of
the night, the O’Connell players were awarded medals and were cheered on by a
contingent of the school’s “O-Zone” spirit club.
"It was awesome because we
worked as a team,” said freshman goalie Patrick White.
"I was proud of our team and
Patrick was a fabulous goalie," said junior Henry Hamilton.
They both agreed it felt great to
have so many friends come out and cheer for them. “It was so nice to see
all rival schools come together to cheer on their classmates at this very
special and very fun tournament,” said senior
Christina Fomunyoh, who came out to cheer on the O’Connell squad.
“The O’Connell school community embraced this new team,” said
Expanded Services Director Susan Rinaldi. “From the varsity soccer teams, to
the volunteer coaches, to the students who came out to cheer — everyone was all
in.”
As the soccer season winds down, this group of students and
coaches are setting their sights on the upcoming basketball season. Last year’s
Basketball Club was a great success. The team worked on their skills after
school with varsity boys and girls basketball teams, and played one game in front
of a packed crowd prior to a varsity game. Working together, these students
built new friendships among players from both teams.
This year’s Basketball Club members are looking forward to
getting in a few more Special Olympics games and they are excited about the
future club.