A true champion

Deirdre Newman

With a whistle dangling from his mouth, adaptive physical education

teacher Tim Shaw rushes Ivan Rosete’s wheelchair down the basketball

court, helping the boy dribble with his spare hand.

The Estancia High School court is crowded with other students and

their aides, but Shaw coolly finds a clear lane.

Ivan, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, shoots and misses, but gets

a supportive slap on the back from Shaw anyway.

Shaw has been helping district special education students shoot for

the stars for the last year and a half. What his students aren’t aware

of, however, is that the humble coach is a former Olympic medal winner --

his water polo team won a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Games.

The Olympic experience, Shaw said, helped him understand the true

meaning of a champion -- a philosophy that he tries to instill in his

students.

“If we’re reaching the best of their possibilities and potential,

they’re champions too,” Shaw said. “You don’t settle for anything less.”

The Newport Beach resident retired from water polo after the ’84 games

and 28 years of water polo. He coached swimming in Long Beach for six

years, and when his sport got the ax because of budget cuts he decided to

get a teaching credential.

He said he was inspired to work with special education students

because of his experience handing out medals for the Special Olympics.

“I always felt bad because I felt a little bit like I wanted to do

more hands-on work with the kids, not just show up twice a year and put

medals around their necks,” Shaw said. “I wanted to give back a lot more

to them than what I was.”

Shaw came to the district in October 2000 and now works at four

schools.

He teaches a wide variety of sports, trying to parallel the mainstream

physical education curriculum while also focusing on the basics, such as

how to take a step forward.

“The challenging part is to really design the daily lesson plan and

make sure you’re meeting their specific goals, as well as incorporating

everyone in the lesson,” Shaw said.

Shaw is supported in his efforts by the special education teachers and

their aides.

At Estancia, Shaw has introduced new elements to the adaptive physical

education program that have had a host of positive benefits, said Hendrik

Guevara, special education teacher.

For basketball, Shaw gave the students different colored jerseys his

sister made so they could recognize their teammates. A simple visual cue

means a lot to these students, Guevara said.

“You tell them something, and it’s hard for them to get because it’s

too abstract,” Guevara said. “But if you say, ‘You’re on the blue team,’

it simplifies it.”

The students also seem to be more social with each other since Shaw

started, instead of craving individual attention, Guevara added.

David Reyes, 16, who has cerebral palsy, said he enjoys having Shaw

for a coach because he has learned so many sports, such as basketball and

soccer.

Shaw’s ultimate goal is for the students to apply the same effort they

extend on the court inside the classroom.

“We try to take it one step further and talk about how the success and

gains they’re making in the P.E. class are the same ones they can show in

their academic classes,” Shaw said. “Once that light goes on, they just

have a better quality of life all the way around.”

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .