Towering over his mum and almost taller than his dad, Elijah Brumby at just 13 years old has the DNA of a basketball player.
He put that DNA to the test at the Victorian Special Olympics State Games held in Melbourne from July 6 to 7.
The journey began in 2022 when his mum and dad, Karen and Nathan Brumby, wanted to put his height to good use and found the Special Olympics Echuca Club.
The Echuca sports club provides sport and recreation activities to adults and children with intellectual abilities, and offers a range of sports such as basketball, bocce, ten-pin bowling, and swimming.
Elijah, who has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), finds sports to be a therapeutic outlet, says Mrs Brumby.
“He learns many skills, not just the skills required for the game,” she said.
“They are learning life skills such as how to engage productively with others, communication including taking and processing instructions from others, dealing with stimuli such as noise from the stadium or even the hand dryers in the toilets.
“Each athlete may be dealing with their own stimuli that can trigger them and overwhelm, but they learn how to balance and persist through the challenges.”
After two years of weekly training, of honing his ball skills, and shooting baskets prepared him for this next challenge – playing at the Victorian State Games.
The Victorian State Games, organised by Special Olympics Victoria, span two weekends—one in July and another in September—featuring multiple sports.
The weekend running from July 6 to 7 covers sports such as basketball, bocce, gymnastics, table tennis, and netball.
Elijah headed down to Casey Stadium in Cranbourne East on Friday, July 5 for a weekend of basketball with his team from Special Olympics Echuca Club.
Leading up to the big weekend in Melbourne, Elijah participated in the regional competition in Ballarat.
In the regional competition, the team played five games over the course of one day and qualified equal third out of eight teams, and making it to the State Games.
When the state competition rolled around, Elijah and his team were ready for domination and achieved first place, walking away with gold medals around their necks.
It was the first time Mrs Brumby had watched her son play basketball in a competition, and she said watching it brought her to tears.
”I was so emotional watching him ... Lots of tears of happiness for how proud we are of him over coming challenges and trying his best,“ she said.
“Watching all the athletes come together and support each other was just something so heart-warming and special.
“Inclusive sport is so important and people should be more aware of the Special Olympic Games because it offers such amazing opportunities to athletes, volunteers and families.”