Special student athletes compete during 'VIP Track and Field Day' at Adelanto High School
The joy was palpable among the 250 student-athletes who participated in the "VIP Track and Field Day" on at Adelanto High School this week.
Adelanto teacher Mike LaBrosse and his team hosted the event, designed for Victor Valley Unified High School District special needs students. Participating schools included Victor Valley, Silverado and Adelanto high schools. Also, Imogene Garner Hook Junior High School, Lakeview Leadership Academy and Cobalt Institute of Math and Science.
As a cool breeze blew across the synthetic-turf football field, athletes walked, ran, sprinted, or rolled in wheelchairs across the all-weather track as students, staff and family cheered them on.
Some of the competitions included 25 to 400-meter dashes, relay and trike races, and long and high jumps. On the field, the athletes threw softballs and tennis balls for distance.
Silverado Special Education Teacher Janette Gomez, who oversees the school’s autism program, told the Daily Press that 84 students from her school participated in the sporting event.
“Our students had a fantastic time today, getting out in the fresh air and competing,” Gomez said. “We placed them in different levels so they could participate and they did great.”
An adapted physical education specialist and head wrestling coach at AHS, LaBrosse said the idea to host a special track and field day came to him nearly 28 years ago.
“I was an adapted PE teacher who was itinerant, traveling from school to school,” LaBrosse said. “About five years ago, I stopped traveling and settled down here at Adelanto High School. That’s when I figured it was time to start planning the competition.”
LaBrosse began speaking with district officials and staff from other schools as they set their sights on a track and field event in 2020.
On March 7, 2020, the Elk Grove Unified School District, the largest in Northern California, became the first to close in California after a student tested positive for COVID-19, which was detected in the state two weeks earlier.
By March 16, 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom orders schools to close across the state due to coronavirus concerns.
“By April 2020, we figured there would be no school, and that’s when we postponed our plans for a track and field event,” LaBrosse said. “Last year, we started planning again after everyone was feeling a bit more comfortable and with much of the pandemic behind us.”
LaBrosse credits a small army of people, groups and companies for supporting the track field event, including AHS Principal Ebony Purcell, track/field coach Wayne Wilson and student volunteers.
“The most important thing today was how happy the kids were. You could see it on all their faces,” LaBrosse said. “Let’s hope we can do this again next year.”
View the photo gallery for more images of the "VIP Track and Field Day" event.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Special student athletes compete during 'VIP Track and Field Day' in Adelanto
