Nicholls to host Special Olympics clinic for tennis athletes

The Nicholls tennis team, in a partnership with Bayou Land, will be hosting the Special Olympics Clinic this Saturday.

The clinic will take place on the Nicholls tennis courts from 9 to 11 a.m., with the main goal of providing kids with special needs tennis lessons. 

“This event is nothing new to the Nicholls campus,” Angelique Nicholas, liaison of Special Olympics and Nicholls, said. “This is our first tennis clinic, however we have previously had basketball, volleyball and soccer clinics.”

Nicholls hosted the volleyball clinic last April, as envisioned by Nicholas and volleyball Head Coach Tommy Harold.

These clinics are around to help train eager athletes, and also to create more opportunities of interaction between them and Nicholls. 

“We want to get all of our [Nicholls] students more accustomed to working with people who have special needs,” Nicholas said. “Our biggest goal is inclusion.”

This clinic is free for anyone with special needs that have a desire to learn more about sports, and it is open to all ages. They are welcomed to participate with a partner.

Students, faculty, staff and anybody in the Nicholls community can also volunteer in the event. 

“Anyone who is interested in working with special needs children are more than welcome to come volunteer,” Nicholas said. “If we can get people out there to help move groups from skill to skill, it’s always greatly appreciated.”

With the anticipated outcome, she explains that she can’t wait to see what the future holds. 

“The clinic is already spread around several parishes in our area: Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. John and Harahan as a part of Bayou Land,” Nicholas said. 

Nicholas is eager to see how the clinics do here in Lafourche and hopes that the event can eventually spread around our community and Nicholls campus.

“We hope to get companies from the community to be able to donate items to eat and drink throughout the years.” Nicholas said. 

She believes that this would create a bigger opportunity to get the word out.

“Being a mother of two children who participate in the Special Olympics, I love to know that Nicholls does something like this,” Nicholas said. “Watching kids who feel as if they can’t do anything, actually have a glimmer of hope, is spectacular.”

Raising her children on hope, Nicholas wants this clinic to do the same for her athletes.