Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Third-Grader Tries Out Pee Wee Basketball
PRAIRIE GROVE TEAM EMBRACES, LOOKS PAST HIS DISABILITY
PRAIRIE GROVE — One Prairie Grove mom takes to heart the way the community has embraced her son and given him new opportunities to learn and grow.
Sarah Nunn has enjoyed watching her son, Pete, born with Down syndrome, participate for the first time in Pee Wee third-grade basketball.
Pete loves his older brother and likes watching him play basketball. Nunn said she had not considered signing Pete up for Pee Wee basketball because he can be hard to handle at times.
“He’s challenging. If you don’t invite that challenge into your life, it doesn’t always work well,” Nunn said.
However, Pete’s good friend Roman Simpson wanted Pete
to play on his team. His dad, Austin Simpson, planned to coach Roman’s team and he also wanted Pete to play for him.
They both invited Pete to participate in the league.
Nunn said her first thought was to let her son go to practices but not participate in the games. She didn’t want him to be a distraction to other players or disrupt the game. But Simpson wanted Pete to try a game.
“We tried his first game and he did great,” Nunn said.
The experience this season has been good for her, Pete and the rest of the team.
“It helped me to push his limits further than what I thought he could do,” Nunn said. “It’s allowed me to grow.”
Pete loves attention and his mom said that’s probably his favorite part of the game.
“He loves it when there’s a game. All these people are watching him.” She smiles and adds, “I’m not so sure that part is good for him.”
Ask Pete and he says he likes scoring points.
Participating in Pee Wee basketball has allowed him to feel like he’s one of the team and like most kids, Pete likes to win, she said.
Prairie Grove’s thirdgrade Pee Wee program has four teams and they rotate playing each other on Saturdays. These are kids Pete knows from growing up in Prairie Grove and the kids know him. That helps, his mom said, when he plays against them on Saturdays.
The family tried Miracle League in Springdale, a baseball program for children and teenagers with various disabilities but every week Pete had a different volunteer showing up to serve as his “buddy” for the game. It helps for him to see the same people every week, she said.
“There wasn’t the relationships or community there like there is here,” Nunn said.
Nunn said the family’s goal is for Pete to be knitted into the typical community so that when he’s an adult he will be able to work and live somewhat on his own.
Being involved in an activity like Pee Wee basketball is a step toward that goal.
Pete’s friend, Roman, said he wanted Pete to play on his team so he could score some points.
“I like it when he plays basketball,” Roman said. “Others see that basketball is a thing he can do.”
Austin Simpson said his wife’s aunt had Down syndrome and they’ve always had a heart for people with special needs.
Simpson said having Pete on the team has allowed the other boys and parents to see that just because Pete has a disability doesn’t mean he can’t participate in a sport.
“This has brought our group of nine players together. I play him as much as I play the other kids. He shows up to practices and games with a smile on his face. He’s the bright spot of my week.”
Pete has improved over the season and Simpson noted that Pete was the team’s third highest scorer for the season, which ended earlier this month.
In fourth grade Pee Wee basketball, the stakes become a little higher and the boys begin playing teams from other communities.
Simpson said he’s asked for Pete to be able to play on his team next year.
“I want him as long as we can do it or at least to have him practice with us,” Simpson said.
Nunn said the community has supported her son in other ways. He’s been raising money to go to Camp Barnabas this summer and sold his art one Saturday after basketball.
He made $250 selling his art and received another $250 donation from the Pee Wee organization.
She remains grateful for her community. She said Pete’s success playing Pee Wee basketball is as much about a chance for him to grow as it is about a community with the capacity to embrace people with all backgrounds.