Springbrook, a leading provider of supports and services for people with developmental disabilities, is hosting tryouts for the 2020 Springbrook Scorpions Special Olympics basketball season.
On January 27th and 28th, interested athletes are invited to come to The School at Springbrook gymnasium, located at 105 Campus Drive in Oneonta, (North Entrance) between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm. There will be an opportunity to try out for the Individual Skills Competition team, as well as the Varsity and JV basketball teams. Prospective players need only to attend one of these tryout sessions and are asked to come dressed in appropriate athletic attire. All other gear and equipment will be provided. Athletes are also required to have an up-to-date medical consent form, which is found on Springbrook’s website. If an individual has not played on any Special Olympics teams or it has been three years since they signed their last consent form, they must complete a new form and bring it to their first practice.
The Springbrook Special Olympics Program is open to individuals who are 8-years-old and older and have been identified by an agency or professional as having an intellectual disability, a cognitive delay as determined by standardized measures or faces significant learning, or vocational challenges resulting from cognitive delays that require specially-designed instruction. Athletes do not need to receive services from Springbrook to participate with the Springbrook Scorpions Athletic Program.
For more than fifty years, Special Olympics USA has been actively encouraging people with intellectual disabilities throughout the world to participate in sports as a way to discover inner strength, abilities, and skills that they can use both on the playing field and in everyday life. Springbrook has been home to the Scorpions Special Olympics basketball team for over 25 years, has recently added a track and field team, and is home to the 2018 USA Games bronze medal award-winning soccer team. The organization’s participation in the Special Olympics is 100% donor-supported.
For more information about the Springbrook Scorpions Special Olympics Program, please contact Jon Philby at philbyj@springbrookny.org, (607) 286-7171, ext. 385, or Nicole Sokolowski at sokolowskin@springbrookny.org, (607) 286-7171, ext. 394.
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Springbrook currently provides residential and educational services, respite care, and clinical, therapeutic, and behavioral supports to over 1,200 people with developmental disabilities from across New York State. The organization is Otsego County’s third-largest employer, with over 1,300 employees