While most people count down to Jan. 1, Hayley Carroll counts down to Jan. 2.
Carroll, an 8-year-old from New Lenox who is on the autistic spectrum, can’t wait for the second day of the new year to attend the Providence Catholic Super Celtics Special Needs Coed camp.
The fourth running of the camp took place Friday and Saturday mornings in the Providence gymnasiums and dozens of special needs children from ages 5 to 15 took part.
Carroll couldn’t wait.
“We talk about it for weeks,” said Liz Carroll, Hayley’s mother. “Every day, she checked the calendar to see how many days until basketball camp. She loves basketball.”
At 4-foot-8, Hayley is tall for her age, and after the Super Celtics camp she will try to make her debut with the LincolnWay Area Special Recreation Association team with the hopes of playing in the Illinois Special Olympics event in June in Normal.
“She is working on her passing and dribbling,” Liz said. “I’ve been practicing with her. This is her favorite activity to do.”
Liz said the Super Celtic camp has been great for Hayley, who can’t voice her needs but is physically able to show it.
“Everyone here is very patient with her,” Liz said.
Ashlynn Zwiercan, 8, of Homer Glen made her second appearance at the camp. She has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair but that didn’t stop her from having fun thanks in part to her event “buddy,” sophomore Kennady Kotowski. The Celtics basketball players are designated buddies for each camper.
Zwiercan’s mother, 82nd District state Rep. Nicole La Ha, graduated from Providence in 1999.
“It’s really cool to see that they offer something like this,” La Ha said. “It’s special for me as a parent to come back here.
“Her brother (Cristiano) plays travel baseball and she always wants to do sports. This is a perfect opportunity for her to get involved.”
La Ha lauded the inclusion aspect of the camp and that’s high praise coming from her. She wrote a children’s book, “My Sister is Just Like You and Me,” which highlights the importance of inclusion.
Maddux Boone, 7, of Tinley Park is a three-year veteran of the camp.
His grandmother, Debbie Boone, has brought him each time. She said that Maddux has speech delay and has a hard time expressing himself verbally. He shows his happiness via stimming — physical movements.
Debbie said there is plenty of stimming after the Super Celtics camps.
“Maddux loves basketball,” Debbie said. “Here, he is able to be who he is without any judgement.”
His buddy on Friday was senior boys basketball and soccer player Luke Rost.
Helping people is nothing new for Rost. In 2022, he earned Eagle Scout status. He did the heavy lifting and planning of a garden honoring veterans and service men and women at St. Julie Billiart Catholic Church in Tinley Park. It included a 30-foot flagpole.
Like Boone, this was Rost’s second camp and he said it is a great experience.
“It was a lot better than I thought it would be,” Rost said. “I learned so much. I learned that you should treat people the way you would want people to treat you.”
Senior girls basketball player Landrie Callahan participated in her first camp. The transfer from Morris High School is not new, however, to helping those with special needs.
She was a referee at Special Olympic basketball games in Morris.
“I’ve done it for three years and it’s been awesome,” Callahan said, “They’ve had really good teams with players from all ages. It’s so fun to watch them dunk because you never expect it.”
It’s been a wild school year in athletics at the New Lenox school. The football team took second in the state in Class 5A and third in the state in Class 3A in girls volleyball this fall.
The basketball team, coached by Eileen Copenhaver, is off to a red-hot start. Assistant coach Jenny Maziur, who has a special needs son, came up with the idea for the camp four years ago.
So, Friday was pretty busy. All morning the team worked the camp. After lunch, they headed to Glenbard West for an afternoon game at the Grow the Game showcase.
The Celtics dropped a 54-49 decision to Wisconsin power Notre Dame Academy, 54-49, to fall to 16-2.
The next morning, they were up bright and early for the second round of the Super Celtics camp.
It was a busy weekend, but Maziur wasn’t complaining.
“Watching our boys players and our players interact with these children is so special in my eyes,” she said. “Not only do we like the smiles on the campers’ faces but we love the smiles on our players’ faces as well.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter with the Daily Southtown.