Glenbard North is hosting the next ISO (Illinois Special Olympics) Basketball Tournament in GN’s main gym. The tournament is named the Glenbard Cup. This event will take place on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. During the event, all ISO basketball athletes, from all Glenbard schools, will be playing against each other.
Our GN ISO basketball team consists of freshman through senior athletes. Our athletes are: Anthony McCarty, Logan Christopher, Sam Bucaro, James Jackson, Vito Jimenez, Cameron Santos, Misha Rivera, and Nolan Fischer. The first game this season was an away game on November 14 against Wheaton. The GN team won 39-22.
When both Sammy Bucaro ‘24 and Cameron Santos ‘25 were asked how they felt about the upcoming tournament, they said they were nervous and excited. Both athletes work together during basketball by hustling, passing, and sharing the ball. Bucaro and Santos were asked what they like about basketball. Bucaro said, “I like to burn off some energy, lift some weight, and make some baskets. And run as fast as I can.” Where Santos said, “It helps you make some new friends, let’s us learn from our mistakes, and learn the right thing to do. [When we make mistakes] we learn from it and move forward.”
GN started participating in the Illinois Special Olympics Basketball in 2010. ISO at GN is a seasonal club for students with intellectual disabilities that provides the opportunity to participate in ISO basketball and compete against other participants from other high schools who are also participating in ISO basketball. GN’s ISO basketball coach Andy Adduci wanted to coach because he wanted to make a contribution to the school and watch the students succeed and grow. Adduci said his goal coaching ISO basketball is “to see the athletes develop as well-rounded student athletes, so not only are they good athletes, but they’re making positive contributions to the school and have been helping the school with extracurricular activity but also being a good student in the class as well and being a well-rounded student athlete.”
GN and the other Glenbard schools have their own ISO basketball teams and have an upcoming tournament involving all four of the teams. The GN ISO Basketball team has experienced an enormous amount of success over the years. This includes six consecutive trips to qualify downstate from 2011-2016 and state titles in 2015 and 2016. Another question for Adduci was on his feelings about the tournament. He said, “I feel good about the upcoming tournament this year. We haven’t been to state since 2015-16 when we won state both years and I’m feeling the same vibes this year then back in 2015 and ’16.”
ISO is an organization that supports individuals with intellectual disabilities through sports. It gives individuals with intellectual disabilities opportunities by offering year-round training and competition for eighteen different sports. One of the goals for Special Olympics programs is to enhance physical fitness, fitness skills, motor skills, self confidence, social skills and encourage family and community support. ISO is free to participate in and does not charge a participation fee to anyone who gets involved with the programming. ISO has a community of more than 55,000 members including traditional athletes, young athletes, unified partners, coaches, volunteers, and more.
To learn more about when GN ISO Basketball games or any GN games take place in the future, visit schools.snap.app/glenbardnorth to see game dates, game summaries, and more information about GN’s sports.