The Calvert County Special Olympics Unified Basketball team brought home the bronze medal at a state tournament held last weekend at the University of Maryland .
The team began its final tournament of the season with a loss against Prince George’s County but secured a win after bringing fans to the edge of their seats in a 17-16 match against Frederick County. They secured third place in the 2024 Special Olympics Maryland Basketball Tournament on April 6 after winning their final game against Baltimore city, a team they had lost to at their previous game on March 10.
Last year, the team took home the gold medal from the state tournament.
“This was a more challenging season. We almost didn’t have a season,” Coach John Krohn said. The team couldn’t practice at its usual location as the Northeast Community Center in Chesapeake Beach was replacing its floors during the season.
Luckily, Church by the Chesapeake in Port Republic gave the team a space to practice. The church’s gym had different backboards and rims than what the team was used to, which provided another challenge.
“We went undefeated last year, so it’s kind of like we hit a slump this year,” Brandan Ehrmantraut said, although he added that going from gold to bronze didn’t make this season any less of a victory.
“I see Special Olympics just like real sports. Teams go through slumps. You win one championship and then sometimes you can’t go back to back,” he said. “It’s basketball.”
Ehrmantraut has been playing unified basketball on the Calvert County team since he was 14.
“It has always been my favorite sport. I love basketball,” he said. He looks up to his favorite athletes, including Michael Jordan, to learn more about the game.
His favorite aspect of the game is being with his teammates, he said, which is something many players on the team agree on.
“We do a really good job as a whole unit with encouraging each other, and that helps keep everybody’s mind set on having fun, which is hard when you’re having a tough game,” player Michael Salvagni said of his team.
This season was Salvagni’s first on the unified team, but fans would guess he’d been on it for years after watching him score two three-pointers during the final game of the tournament.
“They’re very competitive and they’re very challenging,” player Dylan Gray said of his teammates. “I have lots of fun.”
Gray has been playing Special Olympics sports since first grade and just completed his second season on Calvert’s unified basketball team. During his first season, Gray won with his team at the University of Maryland’s Xfinity Center, which he loved the opportunity to play in, he said.
“More people should come, at least to watch. I learn more from Special Olympics than they [the players] learn from me,” Krohn said. “I have seen opposing players crash into each other, and they help each other up. Their sportsmanship is second to none.”
Krohn began coaching Special Olympics basketball after his son, Nick, brought home a flyer about the program about 20 years ago, Krohn said. Nick still plays on the team coached by his dad.
Krohn’s favorite memory from his time coaching Special Olympics basketball was watching a player who had struggled throughout the season finally make a basket in a game. Through the cheers, the player did something he had been waiting to do for a long time — run up the bleachers and give the ball to his mom.
“That’s what it’s about. Sportsmanship,” Krohn said. “They make the game bigger than themselves.”
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