Men’s Basketball Team Interacts with Elim Students  (1/29/08)
In the middle of their busy schedule and conference competition, the men’s basketball team took a break to interact with students from Elim Christian School. The Trinity athletes and children with autism spent a morning together, connecting through the common bond of physical activity.
 
“We spend so much time working on basketball that it is easy to lose sight of the people that are around you every day,” said Coach Tim Walker. “Through the simple task of connecting with others we are able to reach beyond ourselves and, in doing so, found that we ended up receiving the greatest blessing.”
 
For a couple of hours the basketball team members put schedules and strategies aside for one-on-one contact with a dozen Elim students. The players manned ten stations, each with an activity that involved a physical skill such as throwing, kicking, batting, or bowling, and spend a few minutes individually playing with the student as they moved through the stations.
 
“It felt good to interact with the kids,” said Michael Thompson ’10 of Macomb, Illinois. “After spending time with them I am reminded that no matter of our shape, size or function, we are all here for a purpose and are part of a bigger plan.”
 
Trinity’s team was able to partner with Elim for this activity through Anne Lubbers, who is the director of Elim’s Autism Comprehensive Education (ACE) program and the wife of the basketball team’s assistant coach Kevin Lubbers. This is the second year that Trinity and Elim have connection in this fashion.
 
“The partnership with Elim is great in that we get to interact with the students and to see that they, along with their staff, have so many gifts that often go unnoticed,” comments Walker. “The exposure to autism also takes on personal meaning for the team as one of our players has an autistic sibling.”
                
 

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