“Go five steps forward and then five steps to the side!” coached 17-year-old Hillview High senior Carlos Larios, gesturing with the football in his hand.
Sean, 14, a ninth-grader at Beckman High, maneuvered into place and Larios tossed him the ball.
“Great arm!” Larios said. “You’re a quarterback!”
Larios was teaching his charge to run a pass route.
“It’s so much fun to connect with these kids through sports – a chill day for us and a chill day for them,” he said.
On Feb. 16, about 180 students with special needs – from schools throughout Tustin Unified – met up with the 250 students at Hillview for a morning of games and crafts. As a bonus, they got to break in the sparkling new artificial turf at Tustin High, Hillview’s next-door neighbor, before even the Tillers themselves.
“I am having the time of my life,” said Hillview senior Marcos Rojas, 17. “I wish everyone could experience what it’s like to work with these kids. They have such big hearts.”
Hillview is a continuation high school for TUSD students who have fallen behind in credits and need extra support. Principal Tim O’Donoghue launched the annual Hawk Games, named after the school mascot, three years ago.
“Hillview kids – and, really, teenagers in general – get a bad rap,” O’Donoghue said. “But they have a lot to offer, and they prove it when they are put in a situation where they can shine.”
From corner to corner, the brightly striped field bustled with activities – kids batting balls off tees, kids kicking soccer balls into nets, kids catching balls with Velcro disks, kids tapping balls through oversized croquet hoops.
Lots of other entertainment didn’t involve balls. The guests and their Hillview hosts tossed beanbags, blew bubbles, circled around a huge rainbow-colored parachute, splatted wet sponges, chalked sidewalk pictures and danced to pop music.
“I’m drawing a dream room,” said visitor Amy, 17, a senior at Tustin High, as she elaborately sketched on concrete. “Everything you dream about becomes real.”
Dylan Ascher, 16, a Hillview junior, chased around Benson Elementary kindergartener Genesis. “I’m happy I was assigned to a little kid,” she said. “I have a three-year-old brother, so I’m good at this.”
Per her companion’s request, Hillview senior Yara Jamal, 17, asked the D.J. for the “Cha Cha Slide” song. Lauren, 17, a junior at Beckman, wanted to dance to it.
“I was bullied when I was in elementary school, so I feel connected to these kids,” Jamal said. “I love being with them.”
Like Jamal, Malik Kennedy relates to kids who don’t easily fit in to the “mainstream.” The Hillview senior is homeless.
Kennedy, 18, got a kick out of watching guests dance.
“That dude is killing it,” he said, pointing out one enthusiastic boy. “Awesome!”
Kara Schlemmer, an adaptive physical education specialist for TUSD, said she believes the Hawk Games are as fun for the Hillview students as they are for her students.
“Our kids have a blast, and the Hillview students get that wonderful feeling of being in charge,” she said as a Frisbee grazed her head.
Per Hillview principal Tim O’Donoghue’s request, the last names of visiting students are not included in this story.
Contact the writer: sgoulding@scng.com
