SPORTSSECTION B (CP)THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014OBSERVER &
ECCENTRIC MEDIAHOMETOWNLIFE.COM TIM SMITH,
[email protected]: ENTERTAINMENT, B9
• FOOD, B10 • CLASSIFIED, B6-7
Who knowswhethermed-ical miraclescan somedayfix spina
bifida,Down syn-
drome orwhatever elseails the 43 youngsters whocame out Friday
night forthe first-ever Sunshine’sSkills &Drills
FootballClinic.
But for one evening, itwas all about presentmo-ments and
futurememo-ries. There were special-needs kids tackling, throw-ing
and catching— side byside with players from thePlymouthWildcats
andOur Lady of Good CounselCrusaders football teams.
Nearmidfield at Ply-mouth-Canton EducationalPark’s varsity turf
field,11-year-old NicholasHo-chrein of Saline relent-lessly went
after PlymouthWildcats player VictorAbrahamwith a series oftackles
unlike any seenpreviously at the Park.
Theywere tackling eachother with glee, and it washard to see who
had thewidest grin—Nicholas,the pre-teenwith Downsyndrome and
alopeciaareata or Abraham, themuscle-bound high schoolplayer.
“I think it’s an amazingthing,” said Nicholas’ fa-ther,
BrianHochrein ofSaline. “Nick likes people.Any timewe can get
himout and actually experi-ence some athletics with
some other kids his age, Ithink it’s an amazingthing.”
Hochrein said Nick“loves watching football”at SalineHigh School
andwas pumped up about par-ticipating. Perhaps just asthrilled
about the eventwas Brian.
“We’ve done some otherthings, not quite like this,”he said. “But
this is, ...whata program.”
And all of the creditgoes to10-year-old ConnorSherman of Canton,
a soon-
Despite being confined to a wheelchair, 5-year-old Lincoln
Nicholls puts a good hit on a blocking pad. Helping Lincoln out is
his buddy,varsity player Kalen Dunham (No. 21, left). PHOTOS BY
JOHN KEMSKI | EXPRESS PHOTO
BRAINSTORM BRINGS‘SUNSHINE’S’Special-needs kids soak up football
fun, knowledge, friendship at unique clinic
By Tim SmithStaff Writer
Throwing another spiral is Plymouth’s Peyton Domzalski, 7.
Hedoesn’t let spina bifida get him down.
SUNSHINE’S SKILLS & DRILLS FOOTBALL CLINIC
Joey Ahearn (No. 42) was thebuddy of 5-year-old JamesJacobs at
Friday’s footballclinic, making the rounds tofour stations. James
hasautism.
After finishing up a 12-minute stint at the blocking station,
thisgroup of clinic participants, players and coaches
enthusiasticallyshout “1-2-3, O-line!”See CLINIC, Page B3
Katie Horton, a formerall-area standout at WayneMemorial High
School, isheaded south to the Sun-shine State and a position onthe
Florida State Universityvolleyball team.
TheWestland residentplayed one season at OhioUniversity before
opting totransfer and join the Semi-noles in Tallahassee, Fla.
“I’m veryexcited forthis opportuni-ty to play bothindoor andsand
at FSU,”Horton said.“Everythinghappened soquickly, but Iknew this
was a chance Icouldn’t pass up.
“The more I thoughtabout it, the more excited Igot, hopefully,
to make animpact on both teams andimprove myself as well. I’mvery
happy and thankful forthis opportunity.
Horton was a major assetfor the Bobcats, helpingthemwin their
10th Mid-American Conferencechampionship in 11 yearsthe past
season.
The outside hitter rankedsecond on the team in kills(312) and
points (368). Sheaveraged 2.6 kills per set.As a high school
senior,Horton was ranked as theNo. 95 player in the nationby
Prepvolleyball.com.
She was more of a soccerplayer before she switchedher focus to
volleyball at theage of 15. Since making thatchange, Horton has
devel-oped into an all-around play-er.
“We were really thin thisspring with our left-sideattack options
and Katiegives us a player that canhave an impact attackingout of
the left and rightfront positions,” said FSUhead coach Chris Poole,
whoguided the Seminoles toSweet 16 berth in the NCAAtournament.
“She has atremendous amount of up-side, but we expect her
tocontribute immediately.Katie has started playingsand volleyball
and I'mexcited to see the impactshe makes on our indoor andsand
teams this year.”
Horton is one of fourtransfer players and twofreshmen in the
2014 sign-ing class.
Another high-level trans-fer is junior middle blockerKiara
Wright fromHoustonand USC. She helped theLady Trojans to
consecutiveappearances in NCAA re-gional finals.
“We have a lot of greatplayers returning and haveadded impact
players,”Poole said. “I believe thiswill be one of the most
tal-ented group of players Ihave ever coached. Theathleticism on
this team isgoing to be outstanding andwill give us an
opportunityto match up physically withany teamwe play.
“We had faith that every-thing would fall into placeand we
expect Katie andKiara to help this programimmediately.”
Ex-ZebraHortonjoins FSU
Horton
VOLLEYBALL
Redford Leisure Serviceshas partneredwith the RedfordUnion and
South Redfordschool districts to offer com-munity swimming lessons
andopen swimming this summer atthe RU and Redford Thurstonhigh
school natatoriums.
The popular programwillrun through July 31, so there isstill
time for youngsters andtheir parents to take advantageof the unique
offering.
The summer swim pro-gram’s coordinator, Gary Bern-
hardt, noted how the Redfordcommunity is collaborating toemploy
local high school life-guards who are trained andcertified by the
American RedCross.
“Pools are closing due to ashortage of lifeguards and thisis a
great experience for theseyoung people to gain experi-ence and
learn the basics ofswim instruction,” said Bern-hardt, who brings
nearly 20years of experience as a swimcoach and Red Cross
watersafety instructor.
Recent RU graduate andcurrent lifeguard Elizabeth
Oliver said she looks forwardto the summertime hours shespends
helping up-and-comingswimmers learn vital waterskills.
“I really like to teach swim-ming,” Oliver said. “I likeknowing
the kids can be safeand that I can help build theirconfidence in
the water. Atfirst they are shy and hangingon the wall, but soon
they aresaying, ‘Look! Look! I can dothis!’.”
Water safety— especially inMichigan— can’t be empha-
Redford summer swim program a proven successBy Alice Walters
Correspondent
Pictured are Redford Summer Swim participants Monae Griffin
(left)and Sierra Ashby. ALICE WALTERSSee SWIMMING, Page B4
SWIMMING
