LIMA — The Lima Sharks basketball team already knows how to win.
However, now they can do it with a little more style.
Each member of the men’s and the co-ed Special Olympics teams, now 35 players strong, were presented with new basketball shoes Tuesday thanks to a grant made possible through Stolly Insurance Group.
“When we started practice for the upcoming season a couple of weeks ago, we noticed team members were playing in shoes with a variety of problems,” said Jon Wade, co-coach of the men’s team.
Wade said a grant was awarded to Stolly Insurance Group, which in turn donated the money to fit the team in the new shoes. The shoes were purchased from Lima Sporting Goods, which was able to hook the team up with a team price and fitted all the team members. The grant was awarded from the Ohio Independent Insurance Association.
The men’s team is coming off a state championship in Division 3 last season. The team has been put in a the more competitive Division 4 this year, so they have their work cut out for them. However, they are hopeful to bring home another championship this season. Wade and Adam Stolly coach the men’s team and Jenny DeRose, Katie Andrews and Mary Weichart head up the co-ed team.
“I believe in myself, and I believe in my teammates,” said Everett Ward, 39, of Lima, who has been a longtime member of the team. Ward laughed off jokes from his teammates about his rather large size 15 new shoes.
“When you do something good for another person, you will be blessed in kind,” Ward said. “We never got new shoes for the whole team before. It means we are happy.”
Cristian Bassitt, 23, is playing for his second year. He said the team was very excited when they learned they were getting new shoes.
“I like them, they are very comfortable,” Bassitt said. “I think it will help improve our game.”
“Some players had the means to get new shoes while others had no means,” Wade said. “The team shoes help with what we try to push. We always use the words ‘we’ or ‘us.’ We try to earn respect and have respect for others.”
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
