‘One Special Game’ at Luke Kennard camp teaches more than hardwood lessons

But while they probably won’t play high school basketball, be named a two-time Ohio Mr. Basketball, earn a basketball scholarship to Duke University or play in the NBA —all Kennard accomplishments —what they learned will last longer than a basketball career.

On one of the last nights of the camp that was recently held, the campers, camp staff, and parents watched as 14 players with special needs participated in a basketball game, an event called “One Special Game,” another brainchild of Berachah Church’s Pastor Lamar Ferrell.

The two teams, each comprised of seven players with differing disabilities, were named the Grizzlies and Memphis, in honor of the NBA team where Kennard, a 2015 Franklin High School graduate, plays.

The game ended in a 32-32 tie which was appropriate considering there were no losers here.

“It was pure electric,” said Herb Davis, one of the referees. “The campers went crazy, the fans were in tears and the players had the time of their lives.”

Davis, a diehard sports fan, compared the atmosphere to when Cincinnati Reds Todd Frazier won the 2015 All-Star Game Home Run Derby, Johnny Bench Night in 1983 when Bench hit his last career homer and when Indiana University stunned No. 1 Duke in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

“An emotional connection event” is how Davis described “One Special Game.”

After the game, Davis talked with a friend, Kenny Haney, who he described as “one tough competitor.”

Haney told Davis he got so emotional watching the game he could have cried. Davis didn’t have the heart to tell Haney tears were already streaming down his cheeks.

Berachah, which has campuses in Middletown and Madison Twp., also hosts “One Special Night,” a prom for students with special needs. All the attendees are crowned kings or queens. Even that couldn’t compare to what those with special needs experienced during the basketball game, said Ferrell, whose daughter, Elley, has spina bifida, a birth defect in which an area of the spinal column doesn’t form properly.

The pastor called the impact of the basketball game “a dream come true.”

Not a dream the campers will soon forget, Ferrell said. The campers, maybe for the first time in their lives, saw those with white canes, wheelchairs and walkers — their constant companions — competing on the court.

They weren’t players with special needs.

Just players.

Like the campers.

“You hope they act different to their classmates with special needs now,” Ferrell said when asked about the impact the game made on the campers. “Hopefully they see them in a different light now.”

Jennifer Atkinson, whose son, Luke, has Down syndrome, said her family planned their summer vacation around the Luke Kennard Basketball Camp. Her son helped at last year’s camp, and when he learned a basketball game for players with special needs was planned this year, she said Luke wanted to attend.

“He had an absolute ball,” she said of her 20-year-old son who scored a basket during a Middletown High School game last season. “The support the campers brought, the energy they brought, it was so much fun. It was remarkable. They had the game of their lives, the time of their lives.”

Atkinson said during the game, Kennard saw her son standing alone under the basket. He passed him the ball and Atkinson scored a bucket. Two points for one Luke, one assist for the other Luke.

Later, Luke Atkinson passed Kennard the ball and he completed a “monster slam,” Davis said.

Those moments will come and go. Just memories. Nothing compares to life lessons.

During a pizza party, one of the campers stopped by her son, Atkinson said. Then he took a second look. The camper said his cousin has Down syndrome and he looks just like Luke.

She believes that may have been the first time the camper saw someone with Down syndrome playing basketball.

“All the kids, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, just want to participate, have an opportunity, laugh and have fun,” she said.