The Greatest Gift

By Mark Siefert

With spring right around the corner, it’s time for the baseball and softball teams to get started with pre-season practice. I won’t do an official preview until later in the spring, but let’s just say that both teams should be good this year.

This past week has been a little slow for SXU athletics, but I have a suggestion for anyone looking for something to do this weekend. About 30 basketball teams with some of the area’s most impressive talent will play in a free tournament from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Shannon Center.

It’s not the local high schools with their Division 1 talent, or the local grammar schools who would all love the opportunity to play on a college campus; it’s the sixth annual Claddagh Southside Classic, with wheelchair basketball teams in from around the Midwest. It’s sponsored by the Claddagh Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports spinal cord injury research and assists individuals with spinal cord injuries and other related conditions.

It’s amazing to see so many teens and preteens competing at such a high level of basketball. If you think you’re athletic, I dare you to try and play wheelchair basketball. The moves that these kids can do in a wheelchair are amazing -- the spins to get around a defender, the breakaway speed, the one-handed dribbling and the three-point shots.

I had the tremendous opportunity to work this event the last two years on behalf of the Shannon Center, and I got the first-hand view of the excitement these kids have on their faces every time they wheel onto the court. What’s even more amazing is all the people working this event, from the referees to the scoreboards operators to the t-shirt sales people, are all volunteers.

So for anyone not watching the miserable star-stricken Pro Bowl, come out to the Shannon Center to cheer for the children and you will see an unmatchable smile.

Mark Siefert is a senior social science major from Crest Hill. He is a member of the baseball team. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.