“Pure joy” at new Special Olympics event at LLHS

LOS LUNAS — It had everything you would want in a basketball game: good competition, excellent sportsmanship and a large, enthusiastic crowd.

That was the scene when Special Olympians from Valencia and Los Lunas high schools tipped off against each other April 17 in the LLHS gymnasium.

“It’s something we’re going to have every year,” said Ed Dapo, LLHS social worker who helped organize the event. “It’s going to be a tradition moving forward. The kids just love it.”

After an opening ceremony and a reading of the Special Olympics motto, it was time to play ball. With the assistance of general education students, mostly members of the Tigers and Jaguars varsity teams, the players raced up and down the court. School administrators, minus the striped shirts, acted as game officials.

“I think it’s a great experience,” said Halie Delgado, LLHS senior, who was cheering from the stands, packed with the student body. “We’ve never had something like this at Los Lunas High School before. It’s great to see everyone coming together as a community.”

The roar of the crowd and the sound of inflatable thunder sticks banging together filled the arena.

“This is really good. Everything,” said David Perea, VHS freshman, who starred for the Jaguars. “If I hit some threes, we might win.”

Perea did hit some impressive long-range bombs, but VHS came up just a bit short. The outcome of the game, of course, was not the point. It was about playing and supporting each other.

“We can all see how they are so thrilled,” Delgado said while trying to be heard above the cheering.

Dapo, one of the coaches, noted the “Pure joy,” among the Olympians. “They’re happy. They’re crying, just elated.”

Or as Perea put it, “Everything is fun.”