Special-needs athletes can now letter at Bingham

PROVO — Bingham High School is down one game in a double-elimination soccer tournament. Three of their star players are benched with the flu.

"It's been a tough day," said goalie Korben Hill, 16. "It's going to take a lot of courage to get back out on that field."

That's the bad news about the Special Olympics Summer Games. The good news is: No matter what happens on the field, the team will return to school Monday conquering heroes in brand new letterman sweaters.

For the first time in the school's history, special-education students have the opportunity to earn an athletic "letter" for their participation in Special Olympics. A banner memorializing their conquest will hang in the halls for all to see. Their medals will now have a place in the trophy case.

"I feel like a champion," said Hill, who has autism.

Hill has been a sports lover for a long time, but until Bingham organized a Special Olympics soccer team last year, he had few chances to show off his skills. He was thrilled when his letterman sweater arrived this week, he said, because he's always admired his older brother's.

"I love it," he said. "I love soccer."

Jayson Isbell, an 18-year-old junior at Bingham, initiated the lettering program in January. The student body officers donated the needed $2,200 to purchase the sweaters.

Isbell has been a vocal advocate for children with special needs since he met his best friend, who is intellectually disabled, in the first grade, he said. At Bingham, Isbell recently led a campaign to get students not to use the word "retard" except when it is medically appropriate.

"They're athletes just like other kids are athletes," he said. "I think they deserve to be recognized."

To earn a letter, Isbell proposed, students must attend at least 10 practices, participate in a full day of competition and pledge to be an advocate for children with special needs. Students must exhibit good sportsmanship and pass all of their classes.

Peer tutors, traditional students who volunteer class time to work with special-education classes, are also eligible for a letter. They play soccer alongside the special education students as "unified sports partners."

"We pass out letters for hockey and lacrosse, why not Special Olympics?" said Tom Hicks, Bingham's principal.

The decision to add the Special Olympics to the trophy case "was probably the fastest decision the high school's ever made," he said. Isbell made a suggestion on a Wednesday. By Friday, they'd secured funding and mapped out a game plan.

On the field Saturday, the players' enthusiasm was irrepressible.

The teens, half of whom have disabilities and half of whom do not, crowded together in a circle and made a pile with their hands.

"One, two, three," said the coach.

"Bingham!" called the players, throwing their hands up in the air. They gave each other high-fives then headed out onto the field where the encouragement progresses into high-energy chest bumps.

"We're going to kick their butts!" shouted one teen, punctuating his words with pointed punches to the soccer ball he juggled between his knees.

Another, listening, worked her face into a stern pout.

"No," she said, firmly. "We will win, but we have to be nice."

Everyone agreed that was a good idea.

e-mail: estuart@desnews.com