By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – It's not always about winning and losing. Sometime sports are just bigger than that. And while the Tennessee Tech men's and women's basketball teams are less than two weeks from seasons that will be judged primarily on the results, the leaders of those programs took part in an event bigger than the sport itself.
Following a busy morning of interviews and interaction from various news outlets at the 2019-20 Ohio Valley Conference Media Day Monday morning, head women's basketball coach Kim Rosamond and head men's basketball coach John Pelphrey, as well as junior women's guard Jordan Brock, joined a group of other coaches and players from around the league to host the Champions Together Clinic at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
The OVC, in conjunction with the Evansville Sports Corporation and the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, hosted the event to promote social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences. Participants in the clinic included both individuals with and without intellectual disabilities. Students without intellectual disabilities (Partners) were paired with students who have intellectual disabilities (Athletes).
"First and foremost, I was blown away with Evansville, the people, the facility and the community service opportunity," Pelphrey said. "It was really amazing. I think they are excited and proud to have the Ohio Valley Conference there as their guest and they made everyone feel very welcome. The clinic was a blessing to all the people that had a chance to interact with those young people."
Rosamond added, "It's so good to be reminded of why you coach the game and why you play the game. It was fun and reminds us of what is so awesome about sports. It brings people from all walks of life together, so today was really cool."
Approximately 70 participants were on hand from five public schools in the Evansville area and took part in a 45-minute clinic that included a "pre-game pep talk," running and stretching, basketball skill work (including dribbling, passing, layups and shooting) and fun competition of "Knockout."
"Just to see the joy on their faces, even after something as simple as a made basket – you come out to do these events, but you're the one that gets the blessing from it. To see these young people experience and have a moment of joy like that – it was a great event. I think it's a great thing that the OVC does and it was an honor for Jordan, Coach Pelphrey and myself to be out here. This is what our program is about. It's all about giving back and serving others. We had a chance to do that today and had an awesome time doing it."
Pelphrey echoed Rosamond's sentiments, "The opportunity to do that was something that was impactful for those of us that participated, but certainly enjoyable for the participants too. They loved being on that floor, being together and playing sports. Some of the conversations, the smiles, the high-fives and fist-bumps are really the things I'll remember most from being up there."
Photos by Thomas Corhern
