ROCKINGHAM — More than 100 special needs kids and adults had the opportunity to learn sports skills and healthy habits Wednesday during the Richmond County Special Olympics Basketball and Cheerleading Skills Camp at Richmond Senior High School.
Girls Varsity Basketball Coach Teddy Moseley ran the elementary school students through the paces on passing and shooting as they broke off into different teams, while members of the boys and girls basketball teams worked with the older athletes on the gym floor.
Moseley also had them run in an out of cones to practice their dribbling and running with the ball.
Upstairs, the cheerleaders worked with students on basics including jumping.
Raiders Head Football Coach Bryan Till spoke to them about the importance of exercise.
After lunch, the heard about healthy eating, including adding fruits and vegetables from their diet and limiting salt intake, from FirstHealth Outreach Manager Amy Forester, who is also a health coach.
Once they had the skills down, two small basketball goals were placed on one side of the court for the elementary students broke into teams to show off what they had learned. The older kids were on the other side going head-to-head to sink baskets.
The camp was paid for through a health grant, requiring the serving of healthy food, according to Special Olympics Coordinator Theressa Smith.
Special Olympics of North Carolina applied for the grant on the local organization’s behalf, Smith said.
The annual Spring Games will be next month.