Adults with autism make friends, have fun at unique parish basketball clinic
Ben Hack stands on the center court line of the St. Joseph Church gym in Maplewood with a basketball in hand and a big smile on his face. Hack, 24, may have profound autism, but the basketball court is his element.
“Shoot the ball, Ben!” someone shouts, and Hack complies, lobbing the ball in a perfect arc towards the basket. The ball hits the rim but bounces through the hoop, causing Hack’s onlookers to erupt into cheers. Hack’s face breaks out into an even bigger smile, and it would not be the last of the afternoon. Making half-court baskets is Hack’s specialty.
Such moments of triumph are common at St. Joe’s basketball clinic for adults with autism, a program run twice a year in the off-seasons of St. Joe’s youth sports leagues. Each week, the participants learn the fundamentals of basketball, from dribbling to passing to shooting. More than that, they get the chance to build confidence in their abilities while connecting with their peers.
“Ben loves it,” said Mary Beth Walsh, Hack’s mother. “He always talks about ‘basketball Tuesday 5 o’clock, basketball Tuesday 5 o’clock.’ In fact, when he goes for a walk now, he’s started taking his basketball with him all the time.”
Walsh is a key reason why the clinic was created in the first place. As she recalled, the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the very few recreational programs that existed for adults with autism in North Jersey, so she started looking for ways to keep her son engaged. She learned of one basketball program designed for persons with disabilities, but it was a little too far from her home in Maplewood to commute to easily. So she got to thinking — why not start a program locally?
To do so, Walsh reached out to her friend Gerry O’Connor, the director of athletics for St. Joseph Church in Maplewood, to inquire about launching such an initiative at the parish. Initially, O’Connor was unsure; he had never worked with anyone with autism before, and he was already stretched thin between his fulltime job as a donor relations director for The Salvation Army and running St. Joe’s youth sports leagues. But he had known Walsh for years — his son attended CCD classes with Hack — so he agreed to pursue the idea.
It was a decision he does not regret.
“This is the most rewarding activity I’ve ever done in my 35 years of coaching,” O’Connor said about working with the clinic’s players. “A lot of them might have watched their siblings play basketball or seen sports on TV and wanted to try it, but society hasn’t given them that chance. This gives them the opportunity to experience athletics. And it makes you feel good to see them having fun.”
Now in its third season after launching in spring 2022, the basketball clinic has grown to include about a dozen players with ages ranging from 18 to 29. Though all adults with autism are welcome, the clinic is specifically geared towards those with profound autism, meaning they have severe cognitive difficulties and limited language skills. As a result, the program’s structure is always flexible to accommodate each player’s specific needs.
“Everyone has different challenges, so you just have to break things down,” O’Connor said, explaining that he and the eight high school volunteers he recruited as coaches use a lot of hand gestures so the players understand what they are supposed to do. “Some folks are really good listeners and follow along. A lot of them have very limited athletic skills, but they want to do it — you can see it in their eyes. So, you just have to work with them closely, maybe take them by the elbow and guide them so they know this is where you have to catch the ball and shoot.
“I don’t think I’m inventing anything new,” he continued. “It’s just about finding ways of making things as simple as possible.”
A typical clinic will last one hour — a time frame judged best for holding the players’ interest — and begin with O’Connor breaking the participants into small groups overseen by the teenage volunteers. These teens will then work directly with the players on drills like passing the ball back and forth and dribbling around cones. Eventually, the players will get the chance to shoot baskets — which they universally love to do, O’Connor said.
Of course, the experience varies based on the player’s needs. During one recent clinic, a player opted to run around the gym rather than participate in the basketball drills. Another player passed the ball a few times before choosing to sit out the rest of the afternoon.
And then there is Alexis Maguire, an athlete so talented O’Connor said she almost left the program because it was not challenging enough. Recognizing that Maguire needed more engagement, O’Connor recruited high school basketball player Greta Servitto to work with Maguire one-on-one as a way of further sharpening her skills. He also arranges two-on-two games in which Maguire and Servitto team together to take on one of the other teen volunteers and one of the players with more advanced athletic abilities.
This individual attention is not something O’Connor was ever trained to provide. Instead, the veteran coach said he simply operates the clinic in the same fashion he would any other athletic program.
“I don’t treat them differently from the other kids I coach,” O’Connor said. “It’s not rocket science — I just treat them with kindness.”
Maguire certainly appreciates O’Connor’s willingness to run the clinic. Though she participates in a day program for adults with disabilities, she said the St. Joe’s basketball initiative is the only athletics program she is involved with because there are none other like it in her area. And she looks forward to playing every week.
“It’s fun,” Maguire said. “I like hanging out with my friends and playing basketball with my friends.”
The players’ parents are also grateful for the basketball clinic. Like Walsh and Maguire, Pat Miller had a hard time finding sports programs for her 22-year-old son John, who has profound autism. In fact, Miller said searching for any sort of social or recreational program designed for adults with autism is extremely difficult.
“When our kids are in school, the schools will do activities, but once they graduate there’s really nothing,” Miller said. “It’s really isolating. There’s just a craving for social, community-based activities. Having this basketball league be available is wonderful.”
Miller said her son loves participating in the clinic each week, with the dribbling drills being his favorite part. As for Miller, she said she loves seeing the smile on John’s face every time he attends the clinic. She is also thankful the program is allowing her son to build athletic skills he probably would not have developed without it.
Plus, Miller said the opportunity for John to form bonds with the teen coaches who do not have autism is truly invaluable.
“For people with autism to have enriching lives, they have to build relationships,” said Miller, who offers employment and social activities to adults with autism through her business, Beloved Bath. “Often they just know Mom, Dad, and maybe siblings, but that’s not enough. Opportunities like this let neurotypical volunteers and adults with autism build relationships. It might not be a typical friendship, but it is a friendship — they recognize each other, they enjoy spending time with each other, and they get absolute fulfillment from it.”
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The benefits go both ways. O’Connor said many of the high school volunteers he recruits receive service hours for their school or parish, but several have returned just because they enjoy assisting with the program so much.
Simon Meade, a sophomore at Columbia High School in Maplewood, is one such returnee. Now in his second season as a volunteer, Meade said he simply could not stay away from the program because it is the most fun he has had playing basketball. He especially loves getting the chance to teach new skills to the players and get to know people from a community he would not have connected with otherwise.
Columbia High School senior Callan Bauer also did not think twice about returning as a volunteer. Bauer said he has always loved giving back to his community, but being part of the clinic has been especially fulfilling because he can see improvement in the players he teaches each week. And considering how positive his experience has been, he urges all other teens to volunteer with the clinic as well.
“I would tell anyone on the fence about volunteering to absolutely do it because it’s a rewarding experience like no other,” Bauer said. “I can’t wait for every Tuesday because I love basketball, and I love teaching, and the amount of joy these players show when they make a shot puts a smile on my face. It makes my day.”
These myriad benefits for all involved is exactly the reason why Father Jim Worth agreed to host the basketball clinic at St. Joe’s. Father Worth, the parish’s pastor, said the program exemplifies how reaching out to those on the margins helps everyone in the long run. That is why St. Joe’s regularly finds ways to engage persons with disabilities, the LGBTQ community, divorced couples, and anyone else worried about being judged, he said.
“Here at St. Joe’s, when we say ‘All are welcome,’ we mean it,” Father Worth said, adding that the basketball program embodies the Catholic mission of ministering to all segments of society.
But St. Joe’s should not be the only parish that welcomes adults with autism, Father Worth stressed. The pastor said he hopes the clinic launched by O’Connor and Walsh serves as a model for other parishes to follow. They do not need to create a big or expensive initiative, either; inclusivity should be their only priority, he said.
“It would be nice if this became a best practice that other parishes could be encouraged to do,” Father Worth said. “Starting something new can be a little overwhelming, especially when a parish is already engaged in multiple activities. But knowing that we’ve already done this might help other places know it is more than doable.”
O’Connor and Walsh also want other parishes to follow in their footsteps, pointing out that St. Joe’s basketball clinic did not take much effort to get off the ground. O’Connor said anyone who wishes to start their own clinic just needs a gym, volunteers, and a waiver for the players’ caregivers to sign. He uses the same permission form as his youth sports leagues, only asking the caregivers to provide a church donation as payment.
One does not even need to have special training to help those with disabilities in a program like this, Walsh added. She said neither O’Connor nor his teen volunteers have any advanced knowledge about autism, yet they have coached their players without issue for three seasons now. In the rare event a problem does arise, she said the players’ caregivers can intervene from the sidelines. And she and O’Connor are always willing to lend their expertise when needed, she said.
The bottom line, Walsh said, is there is no reason why any parish cannot start an initiative to benefit adults with autism. Whether it is a basketball clinic, another type of athletic league, or a completely different style of recreation program, she said parishes just need the desire to make it happen. And if a pastor does not think his community requires such an initiative, Walsh would encourage him to reconsider.
“There is always a need — you just need to reach out to your community to find out what it is,” Walsh said. “And once you find it, you don’t need to create a structured program from the top down. Maybe you can start an informal program like ours or adapt your existing Bingo program. It’s just a matter of figuring out an easy way of meeting people’s needs. There are a lot of lonely adults with autism out there who could benefit.”
If you would like to learn more about starting a program for adults with autism, or if you are interested in enrolling someone in St. Joe’s basketball clinic for its fall season, please contact Gerry O’Connor at stjosephcyobb@aol.com. Dr. Anne Masters, director of the Archdiocese’s Office for Pastoral Ministry with Persons with Disabilities, can also provide advice on creating a program for those with autism. Feel free to contact her at anne.masters@rcan.org.
Photos by Archdiocese of Newark/Sean Quinn
Featured image: Jackson Fritsch shoots the ball as high school volunteer coaches Callan Bauer (left) and Simon Meade watch. (Photo by Archdiocese of Newark/Sean Quinn)
