Schmidt Coaches Special Olympics Basketball Team

04/14/2008

She may be a leader on the basketball court, but Mindy Schmidt (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park High School) is also a leader on the sidelines. Since this January, Schmidt has been a volunteer coach for the St. Cloud Special Olympics basketball team.

“I wanted to enhance the lives of others in my community,” she said.

Schmidt has been interested in coaching basketball for a while now, but since high school has also wanted to become involved in the Special Olympics. Her basketball team manager at Champlin Park High School had down syndrome, and always talked about how much she enjoyed participating in the Special Olympics. When the opportunity arose in her Group Communications course, the idea stuck.

The team practiced every Thursday night in St. Cloud, and thankfully enough, this was the Blazers day off, so Schmidt was able to make the drive and teach the ten men on her team, ranging from late 20s to early 50s, much of what she knows about basketball. The team has had two tournaments this year. Just last Saturday, Schmidt woke up at 6 a.m. and was on the bus with the team at 7:15 a.m. to play four games in their regional tournament in Monticello. They placed second in the tournament.

However, it isn’t just Schmidt who’s doing the teaching. She has also learned quite a bit from this experience. “I’ve learned that sometimes it’s the little things that mean the most,” she said. Before the team’s third game, Schmidt and co-coach Matt Daley bought arm bands for each of the players. They were so excited to receive their gift that they ended up winning by 20 points, while earlier that they, they beat the same team by only one point.

“It was such a great experience,” Schmidt said. “I felt like I was helping others and making a positive impact on their lives. Our relationship was more than just a player/coach relationship, because we also became good friends.”

Allison Homstad, CSB Athletic Media Relations Assistant

Athletic Department
College of Saint Benedict
37 South College Avenue
St. Joseph, MN 56374
320-363-5301
Fax 320-363-6098