The St. Cloud Adaptive Basketball program will play for a state championship Friday at Lakeland’s RP Funding Center at 10 a.m.
Adaptive basketball is an inclusive program to bring students with mental or physical challenges — those who would qualify for the Special Olympics — with their
This is the Bulldogs’ eighth year with a team in the program, and it’s fifth trip to the state tournament. St. Cloud, which won the state championship in 2016, will play Plant City.
Six challenged “athletes” join six mainstream “participants” on the roster; three athletes, wearing even-numbered jerseys, are on the court at all times. This year’s roster roster includes: Braxton Ansbaugh, Blake Butler, Isaiah Camacho, Nicholas Diaz, Tyler Green, Kristofer Pereya, Tyonne Porter, Zak Ramos, Alejandro Soto, Alex Rodriguez, Mason Humphrey and Andres Soto. John and Theresa Stump are the coaches.
“The whole premise is that the athletes shine, and the participants are in a support role,” John Stump said. “It’s competitive, but, when it’s done right, everyone is out there for a greater good.”
He got involved in 2015 when SCHS Principal Nate Fancher approached Stump, who then taught an Adaptive PE class at the school, about the new program forming, now called Special Olympics Unified Basketball.
“it involved playing at least four games to possibly qualify for the FHSAA Special Olympics State Series and just having fun.,” he said. “My main concern was where could I find players.”
Thanks to a supportive SCHS Exceptional Education staff, his classes and the school’s Best Buddies program, the Stumps found the players and had a team, and other county schools also fielded teams, so a schedule came together. A year later, they were state champs.
“We went from ‘How are we going to do this?’ to champs,” Stump said.
It’s gone strong since, even with COVID-19 putting a damper on the 2021 season, but the state tournament moved to June and St. Cloud finished fourth.
This year, the team goes to Lakeland with a 6-0 record and the top-seed, and will play Plant City for the third time at the tournament. But the success is easily put aside, or measured in the team’s inclusiveness.
“It’s really two teams in one, formed from kids from all over campus, and we watch them gel and interact,” Stump said. “It creates opportunities for the athlete group that they wouldn’t normally get. It’s those players who have been on these teams over the past eight years that that have made it special.
