Building Connections Through Basketball: Rivers Students Volunteer With a Special Olympics Program
Jordan Haims ’25 has been volunteering with the Heated Lions, a Special Olympics basketball program, for about nine years. Back when he started in the 2015–16 season, the connection between Rivers and the Heated Lions was mostly just that the team practiced in the Haffenreffer Building—Haims himself was not even a Rivers student yet. But through his leadership, the relationship has grown. Now, the majority of Heated Lions volunteers are Rivers students.
“I slowly became closer with the players—a lot of them are recurring. I became closer with the parents and the other volunteers. But then with COVID, we missed a bit,” Haims explains. At the first practice after the forced break, “there was one other volunteer and me,” he says. “And at the next practice—just me.”
Seeing the need for more volunteers, Haims started a club for Rivers students to get involved with the program. Within just the first year that the club existed, there were 15 to 20 consistent volunteers—more than the program had ever had, in Haims’ experience.
The Heated Lions practice in Haff from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. on Sundays from November to March, and the hour includes drills, one-on-one activities such as working on passes, and a scrimmage. As a volunteer, the hour might look like “passing the ball, getting rebounds, helping some kids with direction, getting them open, and making sure pass goes all around and everyone’s getting their shots in,” Haims describes.
Though one of the things Haims enjoys about the program is that every practice is different, there are some things he has come to expect. One athlete is known for doing a cartwheel when someone makes a good shot. “I’m a hugger” is a common refrain from another of the athletes. “I’ll come walking down those steps, and she’ll be in the middle of the court, and she’ll just yell out ‘Jordan!’ and then come running over and give me a big hug. It’s always so sweet,” Haims says.
Haims has been doing volunteer work for as long as he can remember. In addition to his work with the Heated Lions, he has participated in Inner City Anglers, a program taking kids from Worcester to local ponds to enjoy nature and go fishing, and the Challenger League, a Special Olympics baseball program in Burchard Park. Stepping into a leadership role with the Heated Lions as a volunteer coordinator and a member of the board of directors came out of a natural desire to keep the program going. Along the way, Haims has been able to develop managing and communications skills. Overall, he says that being a part of the program has helped him become more compassionate and understanding. Haims is heading to Bucknell next fall and says he will definitely keep up his volunteer work there: “I really enjoy it. It’s something I’ve just gotten very accustomed to doing.”
As far as the future of Rivers students volunteering with the Heated Lions, Haims hopes he’s built a strong foundation for continued involvement, with the club drawing volunteers from all grades of the Upper School. “For so long, it’s been just me doing everything I possibly can,” he says. “So it’s been really nice to see the connections and bonds between everyone—how happy it makes everyone.”
Members of the girls’ varsity basketball team have been volunteering, and in turn, some of the Heated Lions athletes have attended their games. But Haims stresses that you do not have to be a basketball player to volunteer. “Being cheerleaders is the biggest thing,” he says. “Probably the best thing you can do is sit on the sidelines and cheer and be encouraging.”
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