Toni Smith puts her hand on the back of a young boy’s neck, leans in and offers a few words of encouragement before he jogs back down the court.

A few seconds later, the boy gets a pass and pulls up for a jumpshot. As the basketball bounces on the rim, a chorus of high school students buzz with anticipation.

When the ball finally makes its way through the net, the boy smiles and races back to the other end of the court amid cheers from the crowd. Cheerleaders bounce up and down with enthusiasm. The Greeley West mascot goes nuts.

For several years now, two Special Olympics teams – one of older kids aged 16-21 and one of younger kids aged 8-15 – have played at Northridge and Greeley West high schools during halftime of the schools’ basketball games.

Without the scrimmages, the kids would only have two opportunities to play: the regional and state tournaments. This gives them another chance to play to cheers in front of a crowd.

“Toni tries to set up more for them so that they get to play more,” said Lisa Stang, who coaches the Special Olympics volleyball team, “and that’s where the Northridge games and everything came into play.”

Smith wasn’t sure how the high school kids would react at first; she worried about the possibility of laughs or jokes.

Instead, the students have been enthusiastic about the halftime addition. The cheerleaders make posters to support the players. The student section girds the crowd to celebrate every pass and basket.

“Northridge has been a crucial part in allowing us to not only to let these kids play in front of their peers,” Smith said, “but also to show off some of their skills in the game of basketball.”

The ultimate goal of the scrimmages, of course, is to get the players in tip-top shape for the regionals competition, which takes place Saturday at the University of Northern Colorado.

But as the players spill onto the court between two lines of cheerleaders waving pom-poms and sporting smiles, it’s obvious the scrimmages have a less tangible intent.

“It’s just awesome,” Smith said. “We have amazing high schools in Greeley and incredible students that cheer my teams on.”

-Staff writer Trenton Sperry writes about diversity in Greeley and Weld County for The Tribune. His column runs Mondays. If you have an idea for a column, call (970) 392-4433 or email tsperry@greeleytribune.com.