This past Saturday marked the first appearance in the Special Olympics Indiana State Basketball Tournament for the MCS Cyclones. Head Coach Dustin Kelso and company won back-to-back games at the sectional qualifying tournament the previous weekend to punch their ticket. 

I was fortunate enough to be offered the opportunity to be an assistant coach with the team a little over a month ago, and the experience was amazing. Clearly, it was a shortened season for ‘assistant coach Stevens,’ but I am grateful to SO Indiana’s Melinda Cloud for giving me a chance to jump right in before the playoffs and help out. The athletes on our team welcomed myself and Maria with open arms, treating us as if we’d been part of the team from the beginning.

The first round of games in my ‘coaching career’ were both Cyclones victories at the aforementioned sectional tournament. Our team won the first game by more than 30 points, and coach Kelso quickly pointed out to me that it was the best the team had played all season (so honored, I’m sure it was because of my presence 😉 ). 

All jokes aside, it was inspiring to see the team gain confidence from the first game, which they would need in the next one. Game two was significantly more competitive— a 33-32 nail biter that required a game-clinching basket by a Cyclones player (nice work, Richard!) with under 15 seconds to go.

For some reason, when it matters most, these Cyclones like to make it a close one! They led 32-21 in “the game for the bronze” with just over four minutes to go, but the opposing team made a furious comeback, scoring ten consecutive points to pull within one. It came down to one final three-point attempt that did not fall at the buzzer, and the Cyclones escaped with a win! The team’s first ever medal earned at the Special Olympics Indiana State Tournament was a thrilling way to cap off the season.

Although I’ve only been working with this group for about a month, I felt a real sense of pride in the way they carried themselves at the tournament. I could (and just might) write an entire blog on different moments throughout the day in which extreme levels of good sportsmanship were on display. On top of that, the genuine effort was there from every player throughout.