Special needs kids tackle the fun at Matador Stadium
(Seguin) — Wednesday was not only a great day to be a Matador. It was also a great day to “get active.” Seguin ISD’s special athletes took to the field at Matador Stadium for a day of fun and exercise activities. The activities were all part of Matador Get Active, an opportunity for special needs students from across the district to engage in some great outdoor fun.
Whether it was kicking the ball into the goal or swinging for the fences, students were literally having a ball with laughs and smiles across the turfed football field.
Enjoying the sights and sounds on that field was Stacy Nolen, the adaptive physical education teacher for the Seguin ISD. Nolen says thanks to a couple of sports and recreations for all (dis)abilties organizations and inclusion groups, the field day event was a success for students from elementary to high school.
“This has just been a wonderful partnership between Seguin ISD and the Believe It Foundation as well as Kinetic Kids. This is just a wonderful opportunity for the kids to come out and showcase their skills and to be introduced to our new round of adaptive bikes from the Believe It Foundation,” said Nolen.
She says not only was the day planned with no limits but was a priceless opportunity for those witnessing the fun along the sidelines.
“This is a get active day. Kinetic Kids has come out here and set up four sport based skilled stations. We’ve got football. We’ve got baseball. We’ve got soccer and we’ve got track and field and then our fifth station is the adaptive bikes from the Believe It Foundation and so with that partnership between Kinetic Kids and the Believe It Foundation, we are just having a great time,” said Nolen.
A place where everyone can play is exactly what made local mom Laura Schmidt excited for her children. Schmidt says it was great to watch both of her children from Rodriguez Elementary School be engaged in activities that are not always possible for her family.
“I think they need to do this actually more often. These kids don’t get a lot of activity, so they don’t have good muscle tone. So, this is getting them out there, getting their muscle tone together. They are learning to be with other children, which is a big issue with Autism. They have a lot of anxiety, and my kids are very excited to see some of their friends that they haven’t seen in a while so I think we should do this way more often. I’m glad it’s back,” said Schmidt.
Hoping to make the event a tradition from here on out is Kelly Follis, the Seguin ISD director of community outreach and executive director for the Seguin Education Foundation. Follis says it didn’t take long for her office to learn that the Matador Get Active Day was exactly what the community wanted.
“The community was quick to respond. I just sent out a little email talking about some programs that we have coming up in the district and I got immediate response on this event because I think people really see the need and they want to let children with special needs enjoy the same kind of things that other students get to enjoy on a routine basis,” said Follis.
The support for the event, however, did not stop with a check. Follis says some of the supporters also joined the students on the field.
“Parker Lumber is a major sponsor as is Angel Pest Control. We have volunteers from Parker out here. We have a volunteer from Riverside ER in New Braunfels. Kona Ice is coming out later and that’s partially sponsored by those other sponsors but also by Kona Ice themselves. People really just want to help. It’s a beautiful day and I just think our kids are going to have a great benefit from this and our community wants to be a part,” said Follis.
District officials say it’s been years since an event like this for special needs students has been held. Years ago, students competed in what was called the Matador Special Olympics at Texas Lutheran University’s Bulldog Stadium. This event, however, was not a competition but more of a fun day and opportunity to take part in sports related activities.
